The Small Print
by psychegloom
Summary: Ichigo/Rukia Inoue/Ishida. Rukia is taken to the Soul Society on her b-day. Ichigo leaves to the SS 5 months later to find her. He finds her preg. and everyone acting strangely, specially Byakuya who becomes very protective of her. *mystery pairing...
1. Chapter 1

I do not own anything in the Bleach universe

* * *

_May 21st …_

Rukia awoke to the sound of chirping birds, she looked out the window and saw a rich blue sky with a couple of crisp white clouds. She sigh peacefully and got off the bed, it was the first day of summer vacation, and she would be spending it with her friends; with any luck perhaps today there would be no Hallows attacking. She opened the window and leaned by it observing the sky above, 'perfect' she thought, 'beautiful' it was a wonderful day. After observing the heavens a little bit longer, she went into the bathroom.

Ichigo walked into the kitchen to be kicked on the face by his father; he retaliated and punched him fiercely on the jaw causing him to crash into the wall.

"You weak bastard and you call yourself our father!" Screamed Karin standing from the table.

"You're right, forgive me Ichigo for being so weak, next time I will be the one victorious I promise you, your dad will become your role model again," said Isshin hugging Ichigo fiercely; then he grabbed him in a headlock and wrestled him, "ha! Got you off guard did I? you must always be on guard!"

After some struggling Ichigo managed to push him off and kicked him on the face causing him to crash into the wall. Rukia walked into the kitchen wearing a yellow sundress; she was not surprised to see them fighting; she took a seat by the table.

"Happy birthday Rukia-san," said Yuzu placing a plate of pancakes in front of her.

"Thank you Yuzu-chan you are very kind," smiled Rukia.

"Rukia! I had no idea it was your birthday! You must come with Karin, Yuzu, and I to watch the martial arts tournament in Tokyo this weekend, we're leaving at noon today so get your stuff ready! It will be wonderful don't you think? All the junk food, violence, entertainment, family fun, violence, sight seeing, blood and gore…"

"Well actually Kurosaki-sama, I was planning on staying here the weekend."

"Stay _here_? On your birthday?"

"Well, Ichigo said he'd take me into town."

"Oh, did he?" Said Karin smiling at Ichigo mischievously, "about time you made your move bro."

"What?! It's not what you're thinking you stupid little brat! It's her birthday didn't you hear?! You little pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert! You're the pervert!" Screamed Karin.

"Oh no, where have I gone wrong, my son and daughter are perverts and I never realized it," cried Isshin; both Ichigo and Karin punched him in the face. Rukia and Yuzu sighed as they watched the three of them fighting; a cloud of dust formed around them as they kicked and punched each other.

* * *

A couple of minutes after the rest of the Kurosaki family left around noon, Ichigo took Rukia to a restaurant for lunch. Ichigo looked around uncomfortably to find that they were surrounded by couples. He looked down at the menu and then sneaked a glance up at Rukia; her purple orbs danced along the menu reading it carefully. He knew this was her first time in an elegant restaurant while in the real world.

He noticed her expression when they walked inside; there were crystal ornaments, flowers, candles, and expensive china displayed everywhere. She wasn't impressed, she was a Kuchiki after all, but rather confused; he had never taken her to a restaurant of this status; they always ate at fast food places, and the most expensive they would ever get was a diner, and even then, they were never alone, always with their other friends.

Her interpretation of the situation set an awkward tension between them; she played with her hands as they waited for the waiter to seat them. She never spoke either, and whenever he occasionally glanced at her she would turn away quickly hiding her expression. She finally relaxed when they handed them the menus, and the anxiety in her eyes was replaced with delight; her thoughts consumed in the delicious images of food

"What should I get? I'm so hungry I can't decide," she said scratching her head confused.

"I heard the steak and lobster is pretty good," smiled Ichigo;. Then his cell phone rang and he answered it; there was an angry Uryuu Ishida on the line.

"_Ichigo you baka, you didn't return my physics book and I needed it today for summer school_!"

"Well, you don't need to go to summer school. You should be ashamed of yourself, getting ahead in your classes to make the rest of us look like idiots!"

"_What?! You don't even take physics Ichigo you just borrowed my book to impress Byakuya and the other captains remember_?"

Yes, Ichigo remembered. They were given the opportunity to attend a captains party in the Soul Society. Ichigo wasn't sure why, but he felt very intimidated by Byakuya, and lately he'd felt a strange urge to prove to him that he was not an idiot who lacked all sense of class. They stayed the weekend in the Kuchiki Manor, Byakuya wasn't happy about the situation but allowed them to stay there only because they were Rukia's friends. Ichigo spent most of his free time there pretending to be doing his 'Advanced Physics homework'; Byakuya however, never paid attention to this and didn't change his mind about Ichigo having a poor IQ.

"I know, you don't have to remind me…"

"_Yes it was rather amusing watching you try to impress the noble Byakuya Kuchiki out of all people_," said Ishida laughing.

"Shut up! Listen I have to go, I'm having lunch right now."

"_Are you alone_?"

"No, Rukia is with me."

"_Hmm…I see…so you're on a date_."

"What?! It's her birthday get you mind out of the gutter you pervert!" Screamed Ichigo nervously; the people surrounding them looked at him awkwardly; Rukia however did not, she was already used to him making a fool of himself in public.

"_How does that make me a pervert, if anything Kurosaki you are the pervert for thinking that I implied anything more_…"

"I am not a pervert!" Screamed Ichigo.

"_Well, either way, I want my book first thing tomorrow, I'll see you later_."

Ichigo sat back down and saw that many people were staring at him; he tried to hide his face behind the menu; Rukia set her own menu down and looked at Ichigo solemnly.

"Was that Ishida?"

"Yes, why?" Said Ichigo setting his menu down.

"He was supposed to make me a Chappy doll two weeks ago and he has yet to update me on the project's progress."

"What? A Chappy doll?" Asked Ichigo lamely.

"How disappointing, I guess I'll have to wait longer," said Rukia.

* * *

After they finished lunch, Ichigo and Rukia left to the Fare by the peer. They got on a couple of rides; Ichigo had a difficult time convincing her to ride the roller coasters, but he finally managed to get her in line. When they got there they were told that Rukia was too short to ride it.

"Come on can't we let this slide? It's not her fault she's a midget."

"Hey!" Glared Rukia at him.

"Well I guess, since you're the same age," said the guy; they both sat in the seats and buckled their seatbelts.

"I can't believe you got me into this," said Rukia.

"Come on, it won't be so bad, this one doesn't have any loops," smiled Ichigo.

As soon as the rollercoaster took off, Rukia clung to Ichigo's arm so tightly that his arm grew numb and he started to lose all feel in it. He looked at her glaringly, but she didn't pull away; her eyes were shut tightly.

"Rukia. Rukia!" He had to scream because she could not hear him due to the crashing wind.

"What?" She asked frightened as she managed to open her eyes enough to look at him.

"I can't feel my arm."

"Oh," she released his arm and held on to the railing, but when the rollercoaster took a sudden unexpected turn, she grasped his hand tightly.

By the time the ride was over, Ichigo had lost all feeling in his left arm. He glared at Rukia as they walked through the many stands, but she was too excited to notice this. They took pictures in a booth and had their names spray painted on hats that they bought earlier, Rukia wore the one with Ichigo's name on it and Ichigo the one with Rukia's name on it. They had their faces painted, Rukia had a bunny on her left cheek and she convinced Ichigo into getting the same painting on his right cheek. She bought numerous useless toys and enough candy to feed a room full of starving children. She was like a kid in a candy store, she looked eagerly at the stuffed animals on the stands.

"Oh Ichigo can you get me one?!"

"But you already have Kon."

"Yeah but Kon is…Kon."

"Fine," sighed Ichigo; he paid the guy money and he was given a dart to throw at balloons. Truth be told he wasn't very good at throwing; he only managed to get a small stuffed animal that seemed to be a cross between a horse and a pig. He looked at it oddly and then gave it to Rukia; Rukia glared at him.

"I want a bigger one." Ichigo fisted his hand and was about to give the man more money for more darts. But someone else paid him before he did. Ichigo turned annoyed to see a satisfied Ishida.

"Ishida what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I'm getting Rukia a better doll," said Ishida smiling at Rukia.

"Thanks Uryuu!" Smiled Rukia batting her eyelashes at him; Ichigo's face reddened in anger.

"You bastard you're not supposed to be here!"

"Well, I can't work on my homework since you haven't returned my book, so I thought I'd join in on your fun. Besides you said it wasn't a date so it doesn't matter," said Ishida looking at him innocently. He grabbed the darts and popped every single balloon. He was given a large rabbit that was almost Rukia's height.

"Thanks Ishida!" Said Rukia smiling as she embraced the large white rabbit.

"Well this should do while I finish making Chappy, by the way, I'm almost finished," smiled Ishida.

'Well you got her toy, now can you leave?" Asked Ichigo annoyed.

"Well actually, I wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel, Rukia would you ride it with me?"

"Well umm…I'm kind of scared of heights," said Rukia timidly.

"Oh don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you, you can hold my hand if you get scared," said Ishida looking mischievously at a very angered Ichigo.

"But what if I get very scared?"

"You can hold on to me as much a you want Rukia," said Ishida looking mischievously at Ichigo again.

"Okay," said Rukia excited; she threw the giant stuffed animal at Ichigo and dragged Ishida towards the Ferris Wheel. Ichigo followed after them and ended up riding in the cubicle behind them with the giant rabbit.

He clenched his fist as he looked at them and saw a frightened Rukia embrace Ishida tightly; the bastard returned her embrace and then looked back at Ichigo and winked.

* * *

After the ride, which seemed to last an eternity to Ichigo, they left to the beach where their other friends would be waiting for them; by then it was already night. Orihime and Tatsuki were sitting around a campfire while Keigo, Chad, and Mizuiro were by the grill. As soon as they got there both Orihime and Keigo ran over to embrace her, Rukia returned Orihime's embrace while kicking Keigo on the face.

"Happy birthday Kuchiki-san," smiled Orihime letting go of her.

"Yeah how old are you again?" Asked Tatsuki; Rukia widened her eyes; she turned to Uryuu to whisper something in his ear; he nodded.

"She's sixteen.," smiled Ishida.

Keigo took out a large boom box and started playing music. Tatsuki danced with Keigo and Mizuiro while Orihime grabbed hold of Ichigo's arm and pulled him to dance with her.

"Come on Kurosaki-kun!"

Rukia sat on the sand and laughed as she saw Ichigo almost trip many times. She leaned her head back and looked up at the stars peacefully. She was scared out of her wits when Ishida's face suddenly appeared above her; she fell back on the sand with a thud.

"Hi Kuchiki!"

"Ah! You scared me Ishida," said Rukia sitting back up; Ichida sat next to her and carried a large box in his hands, "happy birthday."

Rukia took the box and opened it eagerly. Inside of it was a white rabbit that greatly resembled Chappy. It was wearing a large pink bow and an adorable pink Lolita dress.

"Oh thanks Ishida, it's perfect," smiled Rukia.

"You're welcome, so how did the idiot treat you today?" asked Ishida motioning to Ichigo who was now stepping on Orihime's toes.

"Very well, I had a lot of fun," smiled Rukia looking over at the dancing couples.

A slow song was playing on the boom box; Tatsuki was dancing with Mizuiro and Keigo was standing next to them swinging his fists in the air in anger. Orihime was holding Ichigo a little too tightly; he was stepping on her toes from their close contact and looked uncomfortable as her enormous breasts pressed against his chest. Rukia knew perfectly well how Orihime felt about Ichigo; having this knowledge made her feel slightly uncomfortable, she didn't know why but she felt a strange emptiness whenever she saw them together.

Rukia suddenly looked over at Ishida and found him observing them closely as they danced. The expression in his eyes was unmistakable, there was a spark of sadness in them. Rukia suddenly came to realize something, Ishida had feelings for Orihime. Of course how did she never notice it. They spent a lot of time together, though Orihime only seemed to look at him as a close friend and didn't even register the feelings he held for her. This was partly Ishida's fault, he never sent her any signals, and Orihime probably thought he was gay considering all the feminine qualities he possessed, such as sewing, cooking, immaculate tidiness, and soft facial features that sometimes made him look androgynous. Ishida caught her staring at him and Rukia looked away quickly.

"What is it Kuchiki? Is something wrong?" Asked Ishida confused.

"Oh. No. It's just, you're very beautiful Uryuu," for a moment he blushed thinking that she was hitting on him, "you should tell her, I know she thinks you're beautiful too," smiled Rukia; Ishida smiled back at her.

Suddenly their peace was disturbed when they felt a Hallow nearby and Rukia's cell phone started ringing. She immediately took out Chappy and swallowed the pill. Ichigo let go of Orihime and took his substitute shinigami badge; he left his body lying on the sand and followed after Rukia and Ishida who had already gone after the Hallow. They didn't have to go far, the Hallow was with them on the beach. The Hallow stepped on their fire and the grill and destroyed everything. Ichigo destroyed it with onbe swing of his sword and they returned to the others; Ichigo and Rukia returned to their bodies.

"He destroyed everything, I'm sorry Kuchiki-san," said Orihime sadly.

"It's all right Orihime, I had a lot of fun," smiled Rukia kindly, "well I'm very tired, I should probably leave now. You can stay if you want Ichigo."

She started to walk away when Ichigo followed after her.

"I'm coming with you."

* * *

Their house was very far, but Ichigo had to admit, he liked walking in the night. It was already past eleven and he could hear Rukia yawning for time to time; she used her Chappy stuffed animal as a pillow from time to time as they walked. Ichigo found that he was carrying all of Rukia's stuff, the giant rabbit that Ishida won for her, the bags of candy and all of her toys. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes; he opened them again when he felt raindrops on his face. He looked over at Rukia who tried to shielding Chappy from the rain with her own body. Ichigo looked around and found a bus bench; there was a roof over it that shielded from the rain. He grabbed Rukia's arm and led her there; they both sat on the bench staring blankly into the rain.

"I'm sorry," said Ichigo.

"What for?"

"For ruining your birthday."

"What are you talking about? I had a great time!" smiled Rukia.

"You did?"

"Of course, it was all going so well until Ishida came butting in."

"Wait…but I thought you were enjoying his company."

"Well I was, but I wanted to spend time with you," smiled Rukia.

"Oh," said Ichigo; his expression softened and they both looked at the rain.

"So how long are we going to stay here?" Asked Rukia.

"Until the rain clears, the bus that passed through here doesn't come by anymore."

Rukia leaned forward and rested her head on Chappy. Ichigo stared thoughtfully into the rain; a while later he felt something soft hit his shoulder. He looked and saw Rukia leaning on him asleep. He smiled softly and moved a strand of hair from her face. Soon he also fell asleep; he rested his head on top of Rukia's.

He woke up two hours later; he checked his watch; it was almost three in the morning and the rain had not stopped yet. He gently shook Rukia and she woke up; she looked at him through hooded eyes still half asleep.

"I'm sleepy Ichigo, come on, let's go back to bed," said Rukia yawning; she rested her head on his shoulder falling asleep again. Ichigo blushed instantly at her words; he shook her gently. This time she fully woke up.

"Oh what time is it?"

"It's almost three in the morning."

"It hasn't stopped raining yet."

"No, we should leave anyway, here you can wear my jacket," said Ichigo placing his jacket on her; it was giant on her small form, perfect to cover her from the rain.

"What about you?"

"Oh I'll be fine, the house isn't too far."

* * *

They walked in the rain; Ichigo carried all the bags and tried to cover himself with the giant rabbit but to no avail. Rukia looked at him through amethyst eyes as she held Chappy close. Ichigo caught her looking at him and she turned away quickly blushing.

By the time they reached the house, Ichigo was soaking wet. Ichigo entered his room and was surprised to see Rukia coming inside as well.

"Can I sleep in your closet? I've been wanting to for a while now." Ichigo smiled at her and nodded; she sat on his bed.

"You know, I'm not that sleepy anymore, maybe I'll watch some television," said Rukia; then suddenly the light went out.

"God must hate me," said Rukia sighing; she shrugged off Ichigo's jacket; then she found a letter inside one of the pockets; she took it out and read the envelope.

"To Kurosaki-kun from Orihimie-chan," said Rukia; she was about to open the letter when Ichigo darted towards her to take the letter away.

"I wonder what's in here," said Rukia swaying the letter around for Ichigo to see it but not allowing him to take it.

His tall frame was much larger than hers and he caused her to fall back on the bed; he kept her pinned there hovering above her as he rested his weight on the two hands that rested on either side of her head. He was soaking wet from the rain and droplets of water dripped from his shirt to her body.

"Get off me carrot top you're soaking wet!" He quickly took of his wet shirt and returned to his spot. She couldn't help but look down his chiseled chest. Then she looked back up at him angered.

"You're still wet."

"Give me back the letter," said Ichigo dangerously.

"You're gonna have to take it from me then," said Rukia mischievously. She did not know what tempted her to do what she did next, perhaps it was the jealously sparking through her veins, perhaps the humor she found in it, or perhaps because his body hovered dangerously above her. But she placed the letter inside her bra. Ichigo glared at her.

"Give me the letter you little brat."

"No."

"Then I guess I'll have to take it from you after all," said Ichigo; his expression immediately changed and he gazed at her through hooded topaz eyes; Rukia's eyes widened.

"I..Ichigo, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm taking back my letter…" she watched shocked as his skilled fingers unbuttoned the top part of her sundress; once he stopped the letter was present before him poking through the side of her bra; he took it and dangled it in front of her face, "got it."

"Well you must be happy now that you got your girlfriend's love letter," spat Rukia.

"Love letter?" Said Ichigo throwing the letter to the floor, "that was the grocery list for your birthday cake," said Ichigo hover dangerously over her again.

"But if you didn't need it anymore why did you…?" She finally came into realization, he was clever, too clever.

"I wanted to chase you," said Ichigo as he tilted his head lower.

"Ichigo what…?" He silenced her by placing his fingers on her lips; he gently caressed her lower lip with his thumb then trailed his fingers up her cheek. Her eyes locked with his soft caring topaz orbs and her judgment was clouded. Her eyes fluttered closed as his face drew nearer; she could feel his warm breath tickling her lips.

"Rukia I…" but they were interrupted suddenly by the presence of three strange reiatsus. Ichigo immediately got off of her and Rukia sat up on the bed.

She recognized the three elders standing before her. They were the elders from the Kuchiki Clan, she had seen them many times but had never actually spoken to them; for that matter she did not even know their names since her brother Byakuya avoided speaking to her about the Clan's affairs. They looked at her and Ichigo disgustedly; she immediately stood up from the bed realizing the compromising situation they had stumbled into, Ichigo was shirtless and Rukia's hair was messy and her cheeks flushed. She kneeled down and bowed before them.

Ichigo had a bad feeling about this, there was something in those men's eyes that he did not trust. The way they looked at Rukia, like she was a rare breed of something. They looked at her with fascination, greed, and malice. Rukia did not notice this because she was still kneeling, but one of the men gave her an evil grin.

"Kuchiki Rukia?" Asked one of the elders questioning whether this was indeed her.

"Yes, it is I," said Rukia looking up at them and standing up.

"You have been summoned to a meeting with the elders of the Kuchiki Clan, you must come at this very moment, no questions asked."

Rukia nodded and walked towards them. Immediately Ichigo's hand shot out and he grabbed hold of her wrist. One of the elders looked outraged.

"Do not involve yourself in Kuchiki Clan affairs, your insolence will not be tolerated."

"Don't worry Ichigo, it's just a meeting, I'll be back before you know it, I promise," said Rukia smiling at him. Ichigo nodded and hesitantly let her go. One of the elders formed a portal on the wall, and she disappeared, smiling at him one last time before the door closed shut.


	2. Chapter 2

Rukia exit the spirit gate with the three elders; she noticed that they were now standing in front of the Kuchiki manor. Byakuya was standing there waiting for them. They approached him and Rukia immediately bowed.

"Nii-sama," said Rukia respectfully; she noticed that he did not meet her gaze. His pensive distant eyes looking at the elders without regarding her.

"Sleep, Rukia," said Byakuya, his eyes fixed cautiously on the elders, almost glaring at them. She was walking away when one of the elders grunted, and she paused.

"Our meeting will commence at sunset tomorrow, we expect to see you there without delay, Kuchiki Rukia." Rukia nodded and proceeded to walk inside the manor. She couldn't shake away the notion that something terribly horrible was going to happen, the elders' eyes were filled with malice, and there was a frightful worry in Byakuya's eyes. She knew her nii-sama as a very calm man, it was very difficult for anything to shake him, but yet, this time he failed horribly in hiding his inner dilemma.

* * *

The next morning did not go by without that same notion nagging at the back of Rukia's mind; there was a certain stillness in the air, and the shadows dancing along the corners seemed to be stalking her. As was accustomed, she had breakfast with Byakuya; his usually pensive distant eyes were filled with worry; when he noticed her realization of this he tried to mask it but with little success.

She poured tea into his cup and he quickly glanced at her as he reached for it; then he looked away with usual coldness. He set the cup on the table and finally looked at her.

"Rukia, your fate rests in your hands alone, do not let anyone persuade you into taking a path that will stray you from the road you have already chosen," he said; then he stood and left, leaving a very confused Rukia behind.

* * *

Ichigo was lying awake on his bed, he was still wearing yesterday's clothes and the bed was still undone. He did not manage to get much sleep; he found the ceiling had become an interesting canvas on which his mind drew out the scenarios explaining why the elders took Rukia.

One of them involved a gory battle with dangerous Hallows that had invaded the Soul Society. Another involved a long journey in which she and a few comrades were sent on a mission to retrieve a priceless artifact that would become a menace to humanity if obtained by the wrong person. But the scenario that perhaps frightened him the most was one in which Rukia had unknowingly broken one of their ridiculous noble rules and would be paying highly for it, perhaps with her life. He turned to his side and fell to the floor when he heard the door open; it was Ishida.

"Did I scare you?"

"Of course not," said Ichigo standing up and looking offended, "what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to speak to Rukia," said Ishida scratching the back of his neck nervously..

"Well she's not here, and even if she was isn't it a bit early?"

"It's past noon."

"Really, that late already?" Said Ichigo surprised, he must have pondered a bit too much on the scenarios playing themselves in his mind.

"Yes, so where is Kuchiki?" Asked Ishida sitting on the chair next to his bed.

"She was taken to the soul society by some of the elders from her clan."

"Why?"

"I don't know, they didn't say why, they just _ordered _that she leave with them."

"How strange," said Ishida scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"So what did you want her for?"

"Oh, nothing, I guess it can wait," said Ishida blushing scarlet; Ichigo looked at him curiously and then glared at him.

"Pervert," he said crossing him arms over his chest and trying to suppress his jealousy.

"What? Oh, no, it's nothing like that! Don't worry she's all yours!"

"What?! That's not what I meant either," said Ichigo turning as red as a tomato.

"Well, Orihime called me earlier; she was thinking maybe we could all go watch a movie at four, are you coming?"

"I don't know," said Ichigo; Ishida noticed the worry in his voice.

"She'll be fine, she went willingly after all; if she sensed any danger you would have noticed her hesitation."

"You're probably right. I'll meet you there later, I need to shower."

"Yes…you do," said Ishida wincing; Ichigo glared at him.

"See you later Kurosaki, I'll be taking my physics book," said Ishida picking up the book from the table and walking out of his room.

* * *

Once inside the theatre, Ichigo sat in the far end, Orihime sat next to him, then Ishida, Tatsuki, and Chad. They were watching a movie about a serial killer that had escaped the asylum and was once again on a killing spree. Ichigo thought it was cheesy and overrated, but Orihime looked genuinely scared, she held on to him every time something unexpected happened. After the first hour of watching pointless blood shed, Ichigo sensed a familiar reiatsu and immediately stood and ran out of the theatre and into the snack bar.

"Why did Kurosaki-kun leave?" Asked Orihime disappointed.

"He needs to speak to somebody," said Ishida lifting his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Oh Uryuu!" Screamed Orihime wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in the crook of his neck as the killer on the screen massacred his second victim; Ishida immediately blushed.

* * *

Ichigo walked into the Snack Bar and saw a very familiar Renji Abara lined up for popcorn; he rushed to him immediately. Renji was surprised to see him there but smiled nonetheless.

"Ichigo, how are you? Surprised to see you here!"

"I came to watch a movie with the others, and you, who did you come with?" Renji signaled over to Ririn Yoruichi, Urahara, Nova, Cloud, and Kon who was being carried by Ririn. Kon had been spending the last couple of days at Urahara's shop helping him with chores to obtain a human gigai.

"Hey Ichigo!!" Screamed Urahara waving his arms frantically in the air. Ichigo walked over to them and Ririn immediately hugged him.

"Ichigo I'm so excited, it's our first movie!" Screamed Ririn excited; she along with Cloud and Urahara were making a very big deal about it.

"So what are you watching?"

"Ririn, Cloud, and Kon are watching Lord of The Flings, Renji and Nova are watching Exterminator III: Extermination Day, and Yoruichi and I are watching Lust In the Time of Pneumonia," said Urahara cheerfully.

"Oh," said Ichigo surprised at the cheesiness of their choices.

"What are you watching?"

"Day of The Dead: Return of The Skinning Psycho."

"Oh," said Urahara not looking at all impressed, "you should drop by at the shop one of these days, we haven't seen you in such a long time. Well, we really should get going, the movie is about to start," said Urahara.

They all started to leave; Ichiro held Renji back; Nova stayed as well, but was far enough to give them their privacy. Renji looked at him confused, and immediately the look on Ichigo's face worried him.

"What happened?"

"Have you seen Rukia lately?"

"No, why?"

"Three of the elders from the Kuchiki Clan came for her yesterday."

"What for?"

"For a meeting."

"That all? It's perfectly normal," said Renji relieved.

"I know, but, I have a bad feeling about this, the way they looked at Rukia…"

"They're nobility they look down on everyone, especially people like Rukia, they weren't excited about Captain Kuchiki adopting her as his sister you know."

"Yeah but…"

"You're overreacting, Kurosaki, she'll be back before you know it, now if you excuse me I have a movie to watch, come on Nova!" Said Renji; he and Nova left.

* * *

Rukia was walking towards the temple in which the Kuchiki Clan gathered for their meetings. She was wearing an elegant yet uncomfortable Kimono, she hated dressing like this, but given the occasion dressing up was required of her. She lowered her gaze to the floor as she drew closer to the temple. When she looked up she saw her nii-sama standing by the doors, his eyes were shut and his arms crossed over his chest; it seemed as if he had been waiting for her to arrive. Once he heard her footsteps draw close, he looked at her through cold distant eyes. She approached him and bowed slightly; he looked at her and walked away, his cold gaze no longer meeting her.

"Nii-sama, will you be attending the meeting?"

"This is strictly between yourself and the elders. It is not my meeting to attend."

"Then why are you here?" Asked Rukia confused; he briefly looked at her before walking away without saying a word. She watched him as he left and then looked down to the floor and smiled; although vague, this must have been Byakuya's way of showing his support for her.

She turned back to the door and observed it fearfully. The doors to the temple were vast and luxurious. There were elegant designs; all were either religions or held historical figures of the Kuchiki family; the beautiful images were imprinted in gold, silver, and with valuable gems. She grabbed one of the handles and knocked on the door; immediately the taunting vast doors opened for her, and she walked into the highly unwelcoming darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

_July 23rd…_

Ishida was in class, he was finished with his class work earlier than most of the students there. He looked over at Orihime Inoue who was chewing on her pencil thinking deeply; a hint of enlightenment flashed in her eyes, but then she shook her head and looked back at the book in disappointment. He smiled to himself as he looked at her; he found her adorable when she pouted about one thing or the other.

Their teacher interrupted his day dream when he stood in front of him and grunted displeased. He was a short dark man, with a funny bow tie and oversized slacks; he glared at him through thick glasses and ran a hand through his gray hair.

"Mr. Ishida are you finished with your assignment?"

"Yes, sensei," said Ishida respectfully handing him the papers.

"Good then, perhaps the rest of the class could follow your example and stop day dreaming long enough to finish their assignments," said his sensei loud enough so that everyone could hear him.

"Sensei I'm trying I really am, but it's so hard!" Cried Orihime.

"I could help her!" Said Ishida smiling brightly.

"Thanks Uryuu!" Said Orihime waving happily from her desk.

"I think not Miss Inoue, you will find that there is a certain point in your educational career where you can no longer move forward relying on the help of others."

"But I work hard sensei I really do, I got here by studying hard," cried Orihime.

"Yes, and the earth is flat…this discussion ends here Miss Inoue, now everybody get back to work." Suddenly Ishida stood up and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I believe you owe Miss Orihime an apology sensei."

"Do I really?" Asked the short man glaring at the boy.

"Yes, you have disrespected her by saying she has only gotten thus far with the help of others while in fact Miss Inoue is a bright student who has always excelled in every subject. It would be rather imprudent to make judgment upon her impeccable educational carrier just because she's having a difficult time tackling this subject...especially when the subject is advance for her year in school," said Ishida crossing his arms.

"Is that so Mr. Ishida?"

"Yes, sensei, for all your knowledge I would have thought you to be a wiser man, but it seems that I was sadly mistaken." His sensei glared at him but said nothing realizing that Ishida was right.

"All right Mr. Ishida, help the girl if you'd like," said his sensei in a superior manner, hiding back his ridicule. Ishida smiled pleased.

"Oh it's all right Ishida, I've got it now, but thank you!" Said Orihime cheerfully.

Just then, a moped was heard outside; Ishida looked out the window to find Ichigo outside waving at him. He looked over at his sensei and he sigh frustrated.

"If you're finished Mr. Ishida you can go." Ishida got his things and quickly left out the door. Orihime looked confused.

"I wonder why Kurosaki-kun has been waiting for Ishida-kun after school so much lately?" Said Orihime to herself, though everyone in the class could hear her; then she had an enlightened look on her face, "that's it! Ishida-kun and Kurosaki-kun must be in love! Oh, but what about me then? Well I suppose if it's the two of them it's okay, who am I to intervene in such forbidden love!" Exclaimed Orihime adoringly; she looked around to find everyone staring at her.

"Orihime-chan your are so selfless, how cute!" screamed the lesbian Chazuru wrapping her arms underneath Orihime's breast so that the large globs popped out even more, "how I admire Kurosaki and Ishida, to let their forbidden love float freely in the open, it's so romantic!"

* * *

Outside Ichigo waited impatiently for Ishida. It was almost one, and they agreed to meet Urahara at his shop so that he could help train them. Ichigo still needed help keeping his hollow form longer, and Ishida was keen on becoming stronger. They had been training for the past two weeks, but he still felt like he wasn't getting anywhere. Finally, Ichigo saw that Ishida was making his way to him; Ichigo glared at him.

"What took you?"

"The Physics assignment today was more difficult than foreseen," admitted Ishida.

"Heh," grinned Ichigo mischievously.

"Don't you look at me in that condescending manner, you wouldn't understand the first thing about Physics!" exclaimed Ishida.

"Whatever, hop on, we're late," said Ichigo; Ishida did as instructed holding on to Ichigo's back. They looked at the windows of the second floor of the school to find a group of girls observing them adoringly; amongst them was Orihime.

"What's their deal?" Asked Ichigo confused; Ishida shrugged and they both left.

* * *

Urahara was sitting by the table eating rice when suddenly Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu crashed on top of the table dog piling an exhausted Kon.

"Give back the candy," growled Tessai.

"It was only a piece of gum, can't you give a guy a break?" Asked Kon squealing under them.

"No!" They all replied in unison. Urahara sighed and made his way to the front door, where Ichigo and Ishida were about to knock.

"We're here," smiled Ichigo.

"Yes, I can see that, but what I don't see is the merchandise," said Urahara squinting his eyes at them.

"What merchandise?" Asked Ichigo confused.

"Nah I've just always wanted to say that, come in boys!" Said Urahara patting their backs as they walked inside.

They made their way to Urahara's basement where they were met by Renji and Chad who were already there. Renji was meditating while Chad sat playing poker with Nova, Ririn, and Cloud. He figured Ririn was the one to win because she jumped up and did the Irish jig.

"All right everyone, we will commence," said Urahara.

Chad and Renji started practicing together while Ririn, Cloud, and Nova observed them. Ichigo took his substitute Shinigami badge and got out of his body, taking his zanpakuto in his hands; Ishida followed behind with his Quincy bow and arrow.

Urahara's eyes danced back and forth as he sat back and watched both groups dueling, over with Renji and Chad, Renji seemed to have the upper hand. With Ichigo and Ishida, Ishida had the upper hand, he pinned Ichigo to a boulder by shooting an arrow through the clothing of his arms and legs; Ichigo scowled, and not too long after set himself free. Not so long after, both Renji and Ichigo used their Bankai. Renji surrounded Chad with his snake-like companion Zabimaru, but he was shocked to see that Chad wrestled the large skeleton snake on the floor; he then pulled back and Zabimaru released a kido which Chad promptly blocked with his arm. Ichigo was still having a difficult time attacking Ishida; the Quincy was just very quick, and his abilities had improved greatly.

"Ichigo, go Hollow, let's see if you can beat your record time of twenty seconds," said Urahara who was now drinking a lemonade that Ururu had brought to him.

Ichigo did just that as a mask formed on his face; they fought diligently for ten seconds when Ishida stopped abruptly and Ichigo almost stabbed him with his zanpakuto, but he held back falling to the floor as he tried to stop himself.

"What the hell is your problem idiot I could have killed you!" Yelled Ichigo standing up from the floor.

"I have somewhere I need to be," said Ishida looking at his watch.

"What? What could be more important than this you baka!" yelled Ichigo furiously.

"Well I…kind of told Orihime I would meet her tonight," said Ishida attempting to hold back the blush that tinted his cheeks. Immediately everyone stopped and looked at him.

"So you're finally popping the question huh?" Said Renji smugly elbowing Ishida on the side.

"Whaaat? No I'm not going to propose to her I just…goodnight," said Ishida clearing his throat and walking out of there with his head high.

"That's not a good reason you jerk! Pervert," said Ichigo scowling.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous Ichigo," said Renji grinning at him mischievously.

"Of course not, Inoue is just a friend," said Ichigo defensively crossing his arms over his chest.

* * *

Ishida ran to his house to change and then ran as quickly as he could towards the pier; he found Orihime standing there waiting for him already; as soon as she saw him she smiled and ran over to him.

"Ishida-kun, I was starting to think you weren't going to come."

"That's silly Orihime, how would I forget?!" Smiled Ishida scratching the back of his head nervously. Orihime watched him curiously, she noticed that he looked different, he was wearing jeans and navy blue long sleeved shirt that clung perfectly to his slim yet toned form, the color of the shirt brought out the blue of his eyes…and he wasn't wearing any glasses; his eyes sparkled magically with the light of the full moon. Her jaw dropped for a second, was this the same Uryuu Ishida? She had never noticed before, but his skin was smooth and flawless; it almost looked like snow…or perhaps vanilla ice cream….? Her stomach grumbled and she looked away embarrassed.

"You must be hungry," smiled Ishida; she nodded.

They walked towards one of the food stands and got a couple of hot dogs; they sat on the bridge observing the way the moon reflected itself on the ocean. After they finished they were silent for a moment; Ishida looked around to find that they weren't the only people there. There was a family nearby; their young toddler looked at the stars through toy binoculars and pointed at the moon. There was a couple nearby sitting on a bench; they were snuggling close to each other; there was an old man scowling as he looked at them; he mumbled something about indecency.

Ishida looked over at Orihime and she smiled at him kindly. A blush formed on his cheeks, and he hoped she did not notice it. He looked at her hands lying limp on her lap, and he wanted to take one and hold it, to touch those soft hands that had healed so many. He shifted uncomfortably trying to control his urge to hold her; she noticed there was something wrong with him and looked at him worried.

"Are you all right Ishida-kun?"

"Yes," said Ishida trying to relax.

"So what was it that you needed to talk to me about?"

"I um…I don't know if I should…"

"It's okay Uryuu-kun, you can trust me!" smiled Orihime. In the back of her mind she thought '_this probably has something to do with his relationship with Kurosaki-kun!'_

She remembered during lunch mentioning to the girls in her classroom that Ishida had requested to meet her tonight to speak to her about something; all the girls giggled in unison.

_"You're so lucky Orihime-chan! He's probably gonna let you in on his and Kurosaki-kun's relationship!" Said one of the girls bursting into giggles._

_"It's so romantic! You're going to be like the nurse in Romeo and Juliet, I wonder if he's going to give you a letter to give to Kurosaki-kun!" Exclaimed Chizuru overjoyed, "you have to promise to tell us in full detail what he tells you!"_

_"What? But I can't., not if they want it to be a secret."_

_"Oh come on Orihime, drop the good girl act, you know you're as turned on by this as we are!" Said Tatsuki from the doorway._

_"Tatsuki-chan?" Said Orihime surprised._

_"Well if you're not going to tell the rest of these idiots at least tell me about it, I **am **your best friend," said Tatsuki crossing her arms over her chest; immediately Chazuru attacked Tatsuki._

_"You're crazy if you think that Orihime-chan is only yours!"_

_"Well she is my best friend not yours!"_

_"Why you little…!"_

_"Stop it!" exclaimed Orihime annoyed; they all stared at her surprised, "I will not betray Ishida-kun's trust, I will keep whatever he tells me to myself!"_

And that's how it ended, Orihime swore that she wouldn't share with anyone what Ishida told her tonight. She looked at him and smiled again; she could tell he was nervous and was fidgeting a bit.

"Well…?"

"Orihime I…" Orihime drowned the rest of what Ishida said with her own frantic screams.

"It's okay Ishida-kun, I don't blame you for falling in love with Kurosaki-kun, he is an amazing man after all. I want you to know that even though I am in love with him it's okay with me that you are together because the forbidden relationship you guys carry is…" she paused as she finally let the words that Ishida said sink in, "special…" she said looking at Ishida surprised; he was surprised as she was, but at what she'd just said. Then they both spoke shocked at the same time.

"Ishida-kun did you just say you were in love with…?"

"You thought I was in love with Kurosaki?!"

"You're in love with me?" Asked Orihime shocked, but to Ishida's misfortune, not in a good way.

"Yes. But I see you are in love with Kurosaki," said Ishida sadly. Orihime remained silent for a moment; she looked into Ishida's starry blue eyes, and for the first time in a long time didn't know what she felt; this frightened her, Orihime as indecisive as she could be, always knew where her heart rested. She looked at him confused, and he looked off to the side, his entrancing eyes watering, holding more sadness than they usually did. He looked back into her eyes; his eyes piercing her soul, such sadness…such beauty, the mixture of beauty magic and grief was maddening, she didn't know what to make of them, how to read through something so forlorn and intense.

"I'm sorry Uryuu," said Orihime bursting into tears; she stood up and ran away. Ishida remained there for a while. Letting everything slowly sink in, and when it did, he allowed for the tears welling up in his eyes to carelessly roll down his cheeks.

* * *

Back at Urahara's shop Ichigo was sitting outside looking up at the sky; his look was not peaceful but rather troubled. Renji walked outside to find him in this manner; he sat by him and punched him on the shoulder.

"Hey!"

"What's troubling you carrot top?" Ichigo stayed silent for a moment.

"It's been over a month and still no word from Rukia."

"Well, she was probably given assignment. I mean really there's no need for her to be here, you're here along with Ishida, Chad, and Inoue, not to mention… me!"

"You're an arrogant bastard Renji!"

"Yeah I know. But you know what I say makes sense, maybe they didn't think Rukia needed to be here anymore. Maybe Captain Byakuya finally allowed for her to be placed in an officer's seat; Ukitake has been in need of a lieutenant you know."

"Yeah I guess it makes sense," said Ichigo sighing sadly.

* * *

_That same night back in Sereitei..._

Rukia sat on a chair inside her room as Rangiku fixed her hair up in an elegant knot. Once she was finished. Rukia stood and looked in the mirror. She did not recognize herself; she was no longer the little Rukia with a feisty attitude. She was a lady, the polished and refined ice princess that the Kuchiki clan had always wanted her to become. She wore an elegant indigo silk kimono, with a red silk obi, there were red cherry blossoms along hems of the sleeves, the bottom of the Kimono, and along the collar.

The silk made her feel self-conscious for it clung to her young curves and accentuates her bodily features, it was sinful, an item of clothing created to arouse desire. There were rubies along the bottom of the kimono, making it feel all that more heavy, she wore an expensive ruby necklace and various ruby bracelets. Her long slim neck was left exposed revealing her creamy flawless skin, and she immediately covered it with her hands, she was so used to hiding behind her hair; she was repulsed by the woman she saw in the mirror.

Rangiku gently pulled her hands away from her neck and looked at her closely. Regular everyday Rukia was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but polished Rukia was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Her skin was like fresh fallen snow, and her tinted soft lips reminded her of cherries, her eyes in particular were dazzling, they were the night's gems, shinning intensely with the light of the moon, her eyes were a mesmerizing mixture of purple and blue, making them look like the young night. Rukia looked at her frightened; Rangiku smiled at her and embraced her.

"Don't worry kid, you're beautiful," said Rangiku embracing her; when she let her go Rukia looked at her sadly.

"Not as pretty as you," smiled Rukia. Rangiku herself was quite dazzling, she wore a violet kimono with purple blossoms, and even though the occasion didn't call for it, her breasts breathed the night air as they always did, revealing themselves to the world.

"Well, let's join the party," smiled Rukia, though Rangiku noted that she was very nervous.

"Hey, don't worry about it okay, everything will be fine," Rukia smiled weakly and Rangiku laughed.

"What's so funny?" Asked Rukia a bit bothered, some of her usual temper coming back.

"Well, it's just that, think about it, many would be more than honored to be in your place, heck, many would kill to be in your place."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, then why don't I feel so lucky?" Said Rukia attempting to smile again.

"Well given the situation, and the manner of it…I don't blame you. I understand that for you it's traumatizing, perhaps even scarring," said Rangiku placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Yes, but I have to go through with this, besides, it shouldn't be that bad, I mean, like you said…many would kill to be in my place."

Rangiku smiled at her and Rukia started to open her bedroom door to exit when Rangiku held her back; Rukia looked at her confused.

"Just remember what I told you, be careful, don't push yourself too much."

"I'll be careful, I promise," smiled Rukia.

"All right then well, good luck kid," said Rangiku embracing her; it took a lot of her self control to keep herself from crying; same could be said for Rukia her eyes were watering, and she was fighting to keep them from rolling down her eyes.

"Well, we should get going, this festival won't last all night. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and my plan won't work after all," said Rukia hopefully, but then her smile quickly faded.

"Let's go." Both women walked out the door; destination: the Moonlight Festival Ball.


	4. Chapter 4

All right, a warning, there will be some strong fluff in this one, but not strong enough to be considered **M** I think.

The next Chapter will have plenty of explanations; some riddles will be solved, though not all of them...I've decided to make this fic a mystery.

I've change one thing, originally they were going to go to the Soul Society 6 months after which would have been December 21st, but now I've changed it to 5 months and November 21st.

Enjoy!

* * *

_November 21__st__ …_

_It was dark; she was running through the dark Menos forest trying to escape from Hollows. She could fight them if she wished, but she was outnumbered, there were just too many of them. She managed to get farther from them and found a cave in which she could hide. She fell asleep there for a couple of minutes, until the horrible cries of the Hollows outside awoke her. She looked around the cave to find that it was dark; in the darkness she could hear that someone else was there with her._

_She stood up and wandered the cave searching for this presence, but she could not see a thing. She tried to use a kido spell, but to her dismay saw that she couldn't, it was as if her abilities had vanished. She stopped suddenly, as she felt a pair of cold fingers running through her back; it was at this point that she realized that she wasn't wearing any clothing. She panicked as the strokes from the cold strong hands grew more intense._

_She fell, fell into the darkness and had no idea how; she was no longer in the menos forest, but rather in her own room. She looked down to find that she was wearing her Yukata and was not naked as she feared. She looked up at the ceiling, and her eyes widened as she felt a weight on her body, though there was no one there. This weight spread throughout her body preventing her from moving away. She tried to get free but did not succeed; the body above hers was large and heavy in comparison to hers. _

_Suddenly there was a pain, a sharp pain that brought her to an abrupt pause; she feared that if she moved this pain would increase. It filled her inside, stretching muscles she had never used and barely even knew existed. This pain came and went rhythmically, and as it went increased in speed and force to the point that her eyes were glassy and she was breathing heavily. Her hips were pressed onto the mattress more than any other part of her body; they were thrust deeper into the mattress with the rhythm of the sharp pains._

Rukia woke up in her futon drenched in cold sweat; panicked, she scanned the room for any intruders. It was early in the morning, and she could see through the window that the sun was just beginning to rise. She sighed and walked to the door; she opened it and sat outside, the leaves were falling, and there was a slight wind rustling the leaves. She closed her eyes as she felt the cool wind caress her face; she opened her eyes when she heard steps drawing near.

She opened her eyes to find her nii-sama walking through there already dressed in his Captains uniform; he paused for a moment in front her without sparing her a glance; his aristocratic chin held high just as always.

"It's early Rukia, go back to bed."

"I couldn't sleep, I had another nightmare."

"Did I not tell you to see Captain Unohana regarding that? Must you be so reckless with your health?" At this he briefly looked at her.

"I apologize nii-sama, I just didn't think anything of it."

"Do not be so irresponsible Rukia, you are in no condition to easily dismiss illnesses that come your way."

"I will go to Captain Unohana after breakfast, I promise."

"Very well then," said Byakuya; he gave her a cold glance before leaving.

* * *

"Kurosaki-kun! Will we be going to the carnival again?!" Asked Orihime excited as they walked home after class. Normally Ichigo would not complain about her company, but lately the girl didn't give him any room to breathe.

Ishida had moved to a private school over the summer, and now their group of friends was another member short. Chad mysteriously disappeared during their breaks and lunch; Ichigo figured it probably had something to do with a girl since he blushed every time they asked him. Orihime and Tatsuki had not spoken to each other for the last week; Ichigo didn't know why, only that this caused Inoue Orihime to follow him around during and after school.

"Listen, Inoue, I'm very tired today; I'm heading home."

"Can I come with you Kurosaki-kun? I could help you with your homework," smiled Orihime brightly.

"Actually, I think I'd like to be alone, it's nothing against you I just…I'm not feeling so well," said Ichigo silently.

"Oh," said Orihime sadly.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," smiled Ichigo, and he walked away.

"Goodbye Kurosaki-kun," said Orihime to herself sadly; she couldn't hold back the tears running down her face. She needed someone to speak to, Tatsuki, she needed to speak to her; they needed to end this silly argument and become friends again.

* * *

As soon as he got his house Ichigo rushed to his room as quickly as he could to avoid being kicked in the face by his father; he wasn't in the mood to retaliate today. He jumped on the bed and looked up at his ceiling. '_Rukia, how much longer are you gonna be gone? What happened to you_?' thought Ichigo.

He turned his head to the side to look at the closet; he stood up and walked over to it. He looked inside to find it empty and lonely; there was only the Chappy doll that Ishida gave her on her birthday; all her other stuff was still in the room she had been occupying while she was here. His dad and his sisters still asked him from time to time where she went, and every time he answered that she was staying with some relatives for a while.

He never thought he would come to miss Rukia so much, he'd grown used to being around her; she had quickly become a constant in his life, and now that she was gone a large part of himself was missing. That was another reason he didn't allow Inoue to get so close to him, the walks home after school, the evenings out in the town, the studying in his room…all of this was Rukia's; he was not ready to replace her. He was not ready to spend all afternoon locked in his room studying away for a test with anyone but her, he would not spend large parts of his nights having conversations with anyone but her; he would not argue, laugh, eat, fight with any other girl but her.

He feared that if he allowed anyone to even remotely fill in the blanks that Rukia left she would not return. If he allowed Inoue to make him laugh again or distract him from his thoughts of Rukia, Rukia would disappear from him forever.

* * *

Orihime stood in front Tatsuki's door nervously; she hesitated first, but then she knocked. Tatsuki opened the door and glared at her, but allowed her inside anyway. They walked to Tatsuki's living room and both sat down on the couch.

"So you want anything to drink?"

"No, thank you." they remained silent for a while; then Orihime burst into tears and embraced Tatsuki, shocking her.

"Forgive me Tatsuki, I didn't mean to make you feel lonely and left out, but Kurosaki-kun was so lonely after Kuchiki-san and Ishida-kun left; I couldn't leave him all by himself," cried Orihime.

"It's okay Orihime, I know how you feel about that baka, the idiot doesn't even have a clue about how much pain he causes you, that carrot top Kurosaki doesn't deserve you," sighed Tatsuki; she let go of Orihime and looked at her, "so what's wrong?"

"I don't know, Kurosaki-kun didn't want me to study with him at his house, I know it's not a big deal, but I feel like he's pushing me away; all the things he used to do with Kuchiki-san he doesn't let me do with him."

"Well you shouldn't feel bad about that Orihime. It's not you, I'm sure he wouldn't let anyone take Rukia's place, studying together and doing whatever it is they did together was their thing, and I don't think he wants to share that with anyone. I think waiting for her to get here to do those things together gives him hope that she will come back," smiled Tatsuki at her.

"I know, but why can't _I _be Kurosaki-kun's Rukia? Why won't he let me get close to him like he lets _her_?" Cried Orihime wrapping her arms around Tatsuki.

"It's all right Orihime, you're not the only person in the world that's going through this. I know it hurts, but it will go away one day…you know, Ishida felt the same way," said Tatsuki; Orihime looked up at her surprised.

"How did you know Tatsuki?"

"How _wouldn't _I know? That boy has been smitten with you since that group of yours started hanging out together and going to the Soul Society."

"How did you know _that_?"

"Urahara let us in on it; he let us watch when Ichigo went after you to get you back from that one place."

"Hueco Mundo?"

"Yeah, that was it. And Ishida, I have a funny feeling he had feelings for you ever since then; and I'm sure when he met you at the pier it had nothing to do with Kurosaki; what the two of you talked about that night, that's the reason he left, isn't it?" Orihime looked at Tatsuki sadly and nodded.

"I didn't mean to be mean to him, but I'm in love with Kurosaki-kun. I don't know what I feel for Ishida; that's why I ran, because I didn't know what to say to him, I couldn't say yes…but I couldn't say no either…" said Orihime fidgeting nervously.

"What?! Orihime…you have feelings for Ishida?!" Asked Tatsuki brightly.

"I don't know…Ishida-kun is so different from Kurosaki-kun, Kurosaki-kun is brave, strong, selfless, forgiving, kind, and he saves everybody even if he doesn't know them. But Ishida-kun, he's gentle, smart, creative, soft, determined, understanding, he thinks before he talks, and he smells clean like the rain. And his eyes, he has big pretty blue eyes; the moon reflects itself on them like it does in the ocean," smiled Orihime; Tatsuki looked at her surprised.

"Orihime, I think you're falling in love with Ishida."

"Whaaat?! I'm in love with Ishida?! But I didn't even know it…"

"No, I don't think you're in love with him…yet, I think you were starting to fall in love with him just before he left…"

"Oh no, I drove him away, and I hurt him," said Orihime sadly.

"It's okay, what's his address? You can go speak to him later."

"Me? But what am I going to say to him; I'm too embarrassed to go Tatsuki."

"Don't worry, I'll go with you and I'll stay until you feel confident enough to talk to him."

"Okay," smiled Orihime.

* * *

That night, Ichigo was lying on his bead, all the lights were off, and in his hands he held Rukia's Chappy doll. His cheeks were damp, his eyes red and puffy, and his gaze saddened. He placed the doll on his chest and closed his eyes; he opened them again when he heard a loud crash in his room. He looked up to find Urahara on the floor. Urahara immediately stood up and straightened out his clothes.

"Come on kid, let's go to my shop."

"I'm busy."

"Busy doing what? Crying?"

"No, I was brainstorming for my Literature Essay…and I wasn't crying!"

"Hahaha…right, anyway, you don't have a choice kid, Soul Society orders; either you come peacefully or I drag you there unconscious if I must."

"Soul Society?" Asked Ichigo immediately getting up.

"Yes, they've requested your presence along with the two humans and the Quincy."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just know it involves one Kuchiki Rukia."

"Rukia?" Asked Ichigo attempting to hide the excitement in his voice, but failed horribly.

"Yes, now let's go, it's six forty five and they'll be expecting you there at seven thirty."

* * *

"Orihime wait for me!" Shouted Tatsuki running after Orihime who was running with abnormal speed towards Ishida's house. Tatsuki was finally able to catch up to her when they reached his door. Orihime knocked on the door anxiously and looked at Tatsuki nervously.

"It'll be all right Orihime, don't worry."

Ishida opened the door; he looked at both girls confused; Orihime covered her eyes when she saw that he was wearing nothing but boxers, Tatsuki however couldn't stop running her eyes along Ishida's very impressive form. His skin was smooth and creamy; he was slim but very well toned; he had muscles in his arms chest and stomach; this surprised them considering that Ishida looked so thin all the time.

"I'm sorry Ishida-kun, did we come at a bad time?" Asked Orihime.

"Who is it Uryuu?" Asked a beautiful red head with large green eyes; she was wrapped in bed sheets; she came behind Ishida and wrapped her arms around him placing a soft kiss on his back.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I interrupted," said Orihime hiding her sadness.

"Don't worry, I just got a call from Ichigo anyway, we need to go to Urahara's shop, you can come inside and wait while I get dressed," said Ishida.

"But Uryuu, aren't you gonna introduce us first?" Asked the girl smiling kindly at Orihime and Tatsuki. She apparently was a very nice girl; she didn't seem to recent the two girls at all.

"Oh yes, I apologize, Christine, these are Tatsuki and Orihime; they attend the same school I used to attend. Tatsuki, Orihime, this is Christine; she is a…friend from school," said Ishida, "well, come in then."

They all walked inside; Orihime and Tatsuki sat on the couch and Ishida walked inside the room; Christine remained with them in nothing but the bed sheets; she smiled at them. Orihime couldn't help but notice that not only was Christine beautiful, but she had a great body, her waist was slim, her hips broad, a well tone behind, and an impressive pair of…a great chest.

"So, are you Ishida's girlfriend?" Asked Tatsuki; Orihime immediately elbowed her on the side.

"Me? Uryuu? Oh goodness no, he's not my type, I have a girlfriend, we are in an open relationship of course. Uryuu and I we…we're friends with benefits, Yukina knows that; sometimes she sleeps with Uryuu too," said Christine brightly; Tatsuki and Orihime looked shocked; Tatsuki started laughing.

"So what is Uryuu now, like a gigolo?"

"No, goodness no! Uryuu was an innocent before Yukina and I got our hands on him, we had to get him drunk the first time; you should have seen his face when he woke up, it was so cute he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. That's what caught mine and Yukina's eye, we were looking for a way to spice up our relationship, and he was just so cute and innocent; underneath those glasses is a total hottie, but he himself doesn't seem to know that. It took some persuasion to convince him to join our little party, but eventually we convinced him." Orihime and Tatsuki's jaws dropped.

"Oh, but I can assure you, we're the only girls he's been involved with. Why? you like him don't you?" Christine asked Orihime.

"What me? Well I…" said Orihime nervously.

"Oh, I'm sure Uryuu would love you, you're gorgeous," Christine stood up and walked over to Orihime, "and you have great tits," said Christine massaging Orihime's large breasts thoroughly with her hands; she giggled when her thumbs teased her nipples roughly.

"Stop that hurts!" Cried Orihime.

"Does it really?" Asked Christine giggling as she twisted her nipples; Orihime cried.

"Get off of her you lesbian!" Yelled Tatsuki tackling her to the floor; she looked down horrified to find that Christine's bed sheets had fallen off giving her a full view of…

"If you wanted my attention all you had to do was ask," grinned Christine mischievously; she grabbed Tatsuki's face and tried to plant a kiss on her.

"Eeww get away from me you lesbian!" Screamed Tatsuki; Christine stopped as soon as Ishida walked into the living room and grunted. He was glaring with his arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently on the floor.

"Sorry Uryuu, your friends are just so cute," smiled Christine letting Tatsuki go.

"Well, then let's go Orihime; Tatsuki, we'll walk you home first."

* * *

"What's taking them so long?" Said Ichigo pacing back and forth impatiently. He, Chad, and Renji were waiting in Urahara's basement.

"Oh look, here they come," said Urahara; Ishida was walking ahead looking very upset, and Orihime was behind him crying as she held her breasts.

"What happened?" Asked Ichigo.

"Yeah man did you molest her or something?" Asked Renji.

"I did no such thing…one of my female friends from school did," said Ishida crossing his arms over his chest; he was obviously still very upset about it.

"Well I'd pay to see that," said Renji; Ichigo hit him on the back of the head.

"You perv."

"All right then, so are you all ready?" Asked Urahara; they all nodded.

Urahara opened the portal for them and they all stood in front of it. Orihime noted that Ichigo had a very determined look on his face.

"All right, well remember to run," said Urahara; he and the rest of the Urahara Shop staff pushed them into the portal.

They ran through the portal as quickly as they could; Ichigo was at the front while Ishida was at the back breathing heavily. Once they exit the portal and were now in the Soul Society, Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku were standing in front of them; they had a serious look on their face.

"Come with me," said Histugaya; they followed him into Sereitei.


	5. Chapter 5

As they followed Captain Hitsugaya through Sereitei Ichigo seemed to grow uneasy; Orihime noted this and held his hand reassuringly. Ichigo quickly pulled it away and promptly walked farther ahead; she looked away sadly and slowed her pace so that she was now walking next to Chad. She then turned to look at Ishida, but he also seemed too preoccupied to notice her.

"Toshiro, will Rukia be there?" Asked Ichigo.

"It's Captain Hitsugaya,and no, we will be meeting with Captain Yamamoto; Kuchiki-san is resting in her…residence." Before Hitsugaya could finish his sentence Ichigo was out of there with flash step.

"Shouldn't we go after him?" Asked Ishida.

"It doesn't matter, he will surely receive the news where he is going anyway…" sighed Hitsugaya displeased.

* * *

Ichigo darted towards the Kuchiki estate like a madman; he ignored the stares he received from the other Shinigami wandering the streets. Once he arrived he found himself in front of the gate; there were two guards by it, though they were asleep, but as he approached, both of the men awoke and pointed their katanas at him.

"Don't take another step punk!"

"I need to see Rukia…" said Ichigo growing impatient.

"Lady Kuchiki is resting; she does not see anybody past six, especially without Kuchiki-sama's consent."

"I don't give a fuck what Byakuya thinks! I need to see her now!"

"We already said no!" Ichigo grew furious and beat both of the men with the handle of his zanpakuto until they were unconscious. He then opened the gate and rushed inside; he was met by many Shinigami; he reasoned it must have been the entire squad six; they glared at him and surrounded him pointing their katanas at him.

"Enough," came a voice from behind; he quickly recognized it as Byakuya's. Not long after the noble walked in front of him looking down his nose at him like he always did, "follow me Kurosaki."

* * *

Meanwhile the others were already in Yamamoto's office they all held a worried look on their faces as the squad one Captain took a seat in front of his desk and signaled for them to sit as well. Orihime and Rangiku sat on a couch while Ishida and Chad sat in chairs; Hitsugaya leaned against one of the bookshelves.

"Do you know why you are here?"

"Because something has happened to Kuchiki-san?" Answered Ishida.

"Yes, partly, Rukia Kuchiki will need your protection from now on for the next six months."

"Protection from what?" Asked Ishida starting to grow impatient; Orihime had never seen him this worried and impatient before.

"Hollows," answered Yamamoto.

"Hollows, what do Hollows want with Kuchiki-san?" Asked Orihime worried.

"You see Miss Inoue, something has happened to Kuchiki-san, something equally wonderful and dangerous."

"What is it stop leaving us in suspense, what's wrong with Rukia?!" Exclaimed Ishida.

* * *

Byakuya and Ichigo walked silently through the halls of the Kuchiki estate. Ichigo found such silence uncomfortable; there was something wrong with Byakuya, through all of his noble Kuchiki act he could tell there was something bothering him. However minimal, there was a small spark of fear in his eyes. Ichigo wanted to grab him and shake him until he told him what was going on, but knew better than to do such a thing. They walked through a large complex of what seemed servant rooms before getting to a stairwell that led up to the Kuchiki family rooms. Once there, they took a detour and walked towards a garden, a beautiful garden lush with plants and flowers of all kinds. The garden was lit by oil lanterns; there was a single small building there; it looked like a temple for prayer, though of course not the official family temple, this one was more personal and not as extravagant.

There was a small woman there praying on her knees; as soon as she felt their presence she stood and took a small bow.

"Nii-sama," she said respectfully.

"I will expect you to retire to your quarters soon."

"Of course nii-sama," said Rukia; Byakuya glanced at her briefly and walked away.

Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes, after five months he was finally seeing her again…Rukia. She looked at him sadly; for a moment she attempted to speak only to close her mouth again. Ichigo did not know what to say, how to act; he couldn't express how much he'd missed her. He gave her a ghost of a smile and then ran towards her falling on his knees in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her stomach; she ran one of her hands through his hair as she watched the bravest man she had met weep for the first time in a long time. The only time she had seen him weep was when he fought the Hollow that killed his mother at the cemetery, and even then, it was raining…and she couldn't tell between the raindrops and his tears. He looked up at her and she could clearly see the drops running down his face.

"Rukia, why didn't you come back? you promised you would…"

"I'm sorry Ichigo," was all she could manage to say.

"But why? I was so worried about you midget!" Screamed Ichigo, though she could see a smile tug on the corner of his mouth. He was happy to see her, and he didn't care why she left, he was just glad to be seeing her again.

He buried his face in her stomach again and smiled relieved. He was close to Rukia again, he could feel her, smell her…she was real. But suddenly something distracted him, and his eyes opened wide…'_that reiatsu…such a strong rieatsu, and it's…it's inside of…inside of Rukia_!'

* * *

"She's pregnant?!" Said Ishida shocked.

"Kuchiki-san…" said Orihime in shock, but then she reacted in a way that no one would have expected her to, "how cool! I can be the auntie! Oh I love babies! Kuchiki-san is so lucky to have her own baby to play with! I'm gonna help her feed it, and dress it, and Ishida-kun could make the little one cute little outfits!" Screamed Orihime merrily bursting into giggles; everyone looked at her surprised.

"You're excited about this?" Asked Ishida confused.

"Of course! A baby is a blessing! A little life in the making…it's so cute!"

"And the father?" Ishida asked Yamamoto a bit nervously.

"That does not matter. What matters at the moment is that Rukia Kuchiki is in danger."

"In danger? Why?" Asked Orihime.

"Giving birth is not common in the Soul Society, when it happens it is normally planned amongst noble families; many precautions are taken every time. A child that is conceived in the Soul Society is always very powerfully when in the womb; it feeds off of spiritual particles leaving little left for others. She cannot remain in the Soul Society; if she did everyone living here would be left with little spiritual energy, weakening our forces and even killing those that do not have a strong reiatsu."

"So you are saying that Kuchiki-san needs to come with us to the world of the living?' Asked Ishida.

"Yes, she will be leaving with you in three days."

"Why three days why can't we take her now? I could take her shopping for baby clothes tomorrow," beamed Orihime.

"Well, there is another thing. As I have already established, the child has a great amount of spiritual energy and an outstanding reiatsu. We need you to train for three days with captains from the Gotei 13 just for precaution. The child is bound to attract hollows that will want to consume him and his mother. Captains Hitsugaya and Soifon will be leaving with you to the world of the living along with Lieutenants Rangiku and Abarai, but we still want to be very cautious."

* * *

Ichigo was silent as he and Rukia walked towards the Kuchiki family room. He suddenly turned and stood in front of her.

"Who is the father?"

"I…I'd rather not say…"

"Why? Does this have anything to do with why they took you on the first place?!" Rukia looked away and remained silent, but Ichigo tilted her face upwards by the chin and forced her to look at him. "Answer me!"

"No okay!" She screamed pulling away, "it was my decision, this had nothing to do with the meeting! I slept with someone out of my own accord so get over it!" He looked at her shocked.

"Why? Why Rukia?"

"Because I wanted to, I'm not as young as I look Ichigo. I'm ten times older than you; it is perfectly normal for me to choose to have a sexual relationship with whomsoever I wish…" said Rukia as-matter-of-factly.

"I know that, but I also know it's not like you; you want me to think nothing's wrong but yet you won't even tell me the father's name. Tell me, do I know him?"

* * *

"Ishida! What's wrong?" Asked Orihime as she ran over to Ishida. They were staying the night at the Squad 10 barracks. Ishida was sitting outside while the others were inside Rangiku's place having tea.

"Nothing in particular, I'm just worried."

"Why?"

* * *

"Fine, yes, you know him, there…are you happy now?"

"Who is it?! Who's the bastard?!"

"I don't owe you an explanation Ichigo now drop it!"

* * *

"There's something odd going on, think about it, if this truly happens every time a noble reproduces then why are all the captains so worried?" Said Ishida.

"Yes I see what you mean, Hitsugaya-kun looked very worried," said Orihime. _"It's __**Captain **__Hitsugaya!" _Yelled Hitsugaya from inside_._

"Unless…the child is not normal…unless the child…is a hybrid of some kind," said Ishida suddenly shocked and completely ignoring Hitsugaya.

"Hybrid? You're silly Ishida, I don't think Kuchiki-san would…become involved… with someone other than a Shinigami."

"Well, you never know," laughed Ishida nervously.

* * *

"Fine, don't tell me, but I'm sure it will be obvious in a couple of months," said Ichigo.

"Is that so?" Questioned Rukia as they entered the building.

"Yes, the father's reiatsu will be all over you. Right now it isn't because the child is drawing so many spiritual particles that it isn't clear, but eventually it will stop, an we'll know who the father is," said Ichigo; Rukia suddenly grew nervous.

"Why do you care anyway?" Complained Rukia.

"I think you know," said Ichigo suddenly stopping to look into her eyes. Violet met amber and she turned away sadly. He cupped her chin with his hand and tilted her face upwards; his amber eyes melting into her soul. She wanted to look away but couldn't; Ichigo always had a way of making her feel at ease even when she was in the middle of a roaring tempest. They were interrupted by Byakuya's grunting as he entered the room; Ichigo immediately let go of her.

They sat around the table as one of the servants served them tea. Ichigo looked over at Byakuya but the noble did not spare him so much as a glance. He set his cup of tea down and then finally his cold dark gray orbs fixed themselves on Ichigo.

"You will be staying here for the next three days to train with the Gotei 13 Captains."

"I will? Why?"

"Because Rukia will be leaving with you and your friends to the living world and remain there for the rest of her pregnancy. I would not allow a Kuchiki to be placed under the protection of inexperienced individuals. Once I have approved of your abilities then I will allow for her to leave with you."

"Approve of my abilities? You've seen me in action Byakuya!"

"Yes, but that was half a year ago; for all I know you have become a weakling." Ichigo struggled not to argue but knew that there was no winning in a battle of wits with Kuchiki Byakuya.

"Fine. But as her protector I believe there is one thing I should know…who is the father?"

"That is not information you need to be provided with to protect her," said Byakuya simply; he took a sip of his tea.

"No, but I deserve to know!"

"On what grounds?"

"What grounds? I care for Rukia, very much, we've been partners for over a year, I deserve to know who is the bastard that did this to her! Because obviously she's not happy about it!"

"Why? Has Rukia expressed to you her dissatisfaction about this?" Asked Byakuya looking at Rukia; she looked down at her cup sadly.

"No, but I know her, and I know something's wrong!"

"That is ridiculous Kurosaki, if Rukia has not told you with her own words that she is unhappy then there is no reason for you to arrive to that conclusion. However, if Rukia wishes to reveal to you the identity of the father then she may do so if she wishes," said Byakuya looking at Rukia; Rukia looked surprised.

"Nii-sama?"

"Yes Rukia, it is your choice, if you trust him, then you may tell him…I believe in your judgment." Said Byakuya taking a sip of his tea. Ichigo looked at Rukia expectantly; for the second time that night she found herself at a loss for words. She looked at Byakuya confused, he however did not meet her gaze.

"Ichigo, I can't tell you."

"Why? Don't you trust me?!"

"Of course I trust you Ichigo, I trust you with my life. But I can't tell you in honor of my child's father."

"In honor of him?! The coward doesn't even have the guts to step up to the plate and admit he's the father!"

"It's not that simple…"

"Whatever…I'm leaving," said Ichigo annoyed as he stood up.

"Kurosaki-sama would you like for me to show you to your room?" Asked one of the servants; Ichigo nodded and she led him out of there.

"If you truly feel you need to tell him Rukia, then you should do so."

"I…I can't…he wouldn't understand; he would want to fight…and I wouldn't have that. There is already tension as it is."

* * *

Back in Rangiku's apartment people were getting drunk. Rangiku brought some sake and they were all celebrating to the maximum. Poor Renji who had just arrived and learned of Rukia's pregnancy was drinking sake like if it was water.

"Here's to the little munchkin! Rukia…who is like my fucking little sister…pregnant!" Said Renji taking another shot; Rangiku joined him and both started laughing hysterically. Chad just sat staring at them while Orihime tried to taste it but every time she tried to drink it she would wrinkle her nose. Hitsugaya looked at them exasperated while Ishida sat looking out the window; suddenly he stood up.

"Well, I'm going for a walk," said Ishida.

"Just don't be out too late Ishida-kun, you'll need your rest for tomorrow," beamed Orihime; Ishida nodded and smiled.

He ran as quickly as he could, his mind was in panic and he didn't know what to think or how to act. This was all so unexpected…could it be possible that…?

* * *

After having tea, Rukia took a hot bath and then sat outside of her room. There was a cherry blossom tree in the courtyard in front of her room that smelled very nice in the night. This was a very special tree, it was covered in blossoms all year round; Byakuya had a couple of these planted all around the Kuchiki estate because he loved the smell of cherry blossoms so much.

She closed her eyes as she felt the cool night breeze hitting her face. Then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind; her hair was flipped to the side and soft lips pressed on the side of her neck. A hand came down to her womb and caressed it sweetly. She did not have to turn to see whom it was, it was him, she recognized his scent, his touch, so gentle, yet so strong and possessive. Some of his hair fell on her shoulder as he drew a path of kisses on her neck, and his hair tickled her skin; it was soft…like silk, these were traits that separated him from all other men, he was surprisingly soft, and smooth.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't tell Ichigo you were the father. It's not out of sorrow or regret…I do not regret my decision…it's just, Ichigo's heart is so fragile; and my heart…in a strange way it's connected to his…I don't know why…I hope you understand…"


	6. Chapter 6

All right! Well here's some candy for those IshiHime fans!

For all of those wondering when the identity of the father will be revealed...I'm thinking it might be at least in chapter ten...I know might seem long, but this thing in itself will probably be fifteen chapters so bear with me my darlings!

* * *

_Training, Day One…._

Ichigo was in Yamamoto's office along with Ishida, Orihime, and Chad. They were sitting patiently waiting for Yamamoto to straighten out the papers on his desk.

"Very well then, I have arranged a schedule for you, for today and the next two days you will be meeting with six captains from the Gotei Thirteen, two divisions each day. Today you will be meeting with Squad Two Captain Soi Fong, and with Squad Six Captain Kuchiki . Tomorrow you will be meeting with Squad Eight Captain Kyoraku and Squad Eleven Captain Zaraki. The final day you will be meeting with Squad Twelve Captain Kurotsuchi and Squad Thirteen Captain Ukitake."

"Sounds like fun," said Orihime not so excited about this but forcing a smile anyway.

"Well Orihime since you will not be fighting you may visit Squad Four Captain Unohana, only if you'd like because you of course don't have much to learn from our primitive healing techniques. Other than that you may visit Kuchiki-san if you'd like, though of course she will be in Captain Ukitake's office until three," said Yamamoto.

"That sounds like a good idea!" Said Orihime all of a sudden chipper.

* * *

Ichigo, Ishida, and Chad were in Squad Two's training arena. They noticed the men were all extremely busy in their fighting; they seemed to become more violent whenever Soi Fong approached them; they obviously wanted to impress her.

"Too slow!" Said Soi Fong, and the men moved faster.

She noticed Ichigo and the others there but she did not so much as welcome them. She grunted and they all lined up sideways. She walked back and forth in front of them with her chin up in the air. She looked at Chad and poked his chest with the sheath of her zanpakuto and nodded impressed. She walked in front of Ichigo and glared at him not even bothering to inspect him. Once she reached Ishida though she shook her head in disapproval.

"Is this a joke? You do realize how out of shape you are, there seems to be no muscle whatsoever in these limbs," said Soi Fong lifting his arm by the wrist and dangling it a bit.

"I assure you Captain Soi Fong, however slim I am well in shape."

"Really?" Said Soi Fong raising an eyebrow questionably; then a smirk formed on her lips.

Both Chad and Ichigo looked at Ishida and Soi Fong. Ichigo knew that the Squad Two Captain was notorious for her physical resistance and grouchiness; she treasured speed and strength together and always drove her Squad members insane with hectic training. They immediately knew that Ishida should not have said that to her.

"Three-hundred-and-eight! Faster! Three-hundred-and-nine…!"

Ichigo and Chad sat down by a tree watching the scene before them in pity. Ishida was on the floor doing push-ups with one hand whiled Soi Fong sat crossed-legged on his back.

"When do you think she'll let him stop?" Asked Chad looking a bit concerned for his friend.

"I don't know, she said she wanted to see how far he could go before passing out. It's the idiot's fault, he unknowingly challenged her," replied Ichigo crossing his arms over his chest.

"Three-hundred-and-fifteen! Faster my long dead grandmother could do this faster than you! Now say it! Say the number!"

"Three-hundred-and…eighteen," said Ishida barely being able to mutter it out.

* * *

"Kuchiki-san! You don't know how happy I am to see you!" Exclaimed Orihime as she threw herself on Rukia. They were in the room in front of Ukitake's office.

"It's good to see you too Orihime," said Rukia truthfully.

Orihime let go of her and stepped back enough so that she could get a full view of Rukia, she looked her up and down and then fixed her eyes on her stomach.

"Kuchiki-san, is it true that…?"

"So you've heard the news…."

"Of course Kuchiki-san! Yamamoto told us all about it…he told us you had to come with us! So now we can go shop for baby clothes when we get back!" Said Orihime jumping up excited.

"Sounds…fun…" said Rukia forcing a smile.

"Oh Kuchiki-san! Can I be the auntie?!"

"Umm…" said Rukia, but before she could say anything Orihime sank to her knees in front of her and started talking to her womb.

"Hi little one! How have you been? Yeah I know I know Kuchiki-san must be taking lots of care of you in there. You're lucky to have Kuchiki-san as a mommy you know, she's smart, funny, and she draws very cute pictures of Chappy. Although…I don't think you should be a boy…you should be a girl otherwise Kuchiki-san would dress you as a bunny and other little kids would make fun of you…" said Orihime thoughtfully; Rukia almost fell over at this, "I wonder who your daddy is…"

Orihime then unexpectedly buried her face in Rukia's womb and stroke it with her hand. She turned her face to listen to it but was disappointed when she didn't hear anything. "Why won't you talk to me little one?"

"Inoue, it's still too early for the baby to move or kick or anything like that," smiled Rukia.

"Cool! So he doesn't hate me then," smiled Orihime and she buried her face in Rukia's womb again and kissed it. Just then Ukitake walked inside; Rukia tried to push Orihime away but to no avail. Ukitake smiled and grunted.

"Oh! Ukitake-sama, I'm sorry," said Orihime standing up and bowing.

"Don't worry, children are a blessing, I'm glad to see Rukia's friends so happy about the baby's arrival," smiled Ukitake.

* * *

Ichigo, Ishida, and Chad were in the Squad Six training room. At the moment they were having lunch with Renji and other Shinigami. Renji laughed almost choking on his soup as Ichigo told him about what Soi Fong did to Ishida.

"She did what?!" He said laughing.

"She only wanted to test my strength…" said Ishida fixing his glasses.

"Well she seemed pretty impressed Ishida, nine-hundred-and-fourteen…who knew you had it in you," said Ichigo patting his back; Ishida winced painfully at the contact.

"I think she likes ya pal, Soi Fong is disappointed by most men, she must freaking respect the hell out of you right now!" Exclaimed Renji.

Suddenly everyone grew quiet as Byakuya walked into the room. He looked at the three visitors and then back at the men.

"I will expect you all to be training with your zanpakutos, you must perfect your Shikai by the end of the week," he said coldly.

"What about us? I'm in Bankai level, Ishida here uses a bow, and Chad his fists," said Ichigo.

"Then perhaps it would be wise for you to work on kidou," replied Byakuya in a monotone.

"I don't know how to do that," said Ichigo.

"Then I will teach you, follow me outside," said Byakuya; the three men nodded and followed them, "Lieutenant Abarai, check the men's progress while I am gone."

"Hai Kuchiki-taichou."

* * *

The day was short, it felt very productive. They were currently at Rangiku's; Ichigo, Orihime, Renji, Chad, Hitsugaya, and Rangiku were in the kitchen. Chad played checkers with Hitsugaya while Rangiku and Renji had a drinking contest once again; Ichigo was next to them counting their shots and Orihime observed intently.

"Ha! Seven! I beat you Rangiku, fair and square," said Renji already beginning to sway a bit.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch Abarai…I'm not done with you yet," said Rangiku taking another shot of sake.

"All right, still a tie," said Ichigo; Renji growled and took another shot.

"Is that a dare Abarai?" Said Rangiku taking another one too.

Orihime was starting to grow tired of this; she decided to check on Ishida and see how he was doing. She walked down the hall and opened the door into the living room.

Ishida was lying face down on the couch exhausted. He moaned in complaint but said nothing of how his limbs felt like they were about to explode. Orihime sat on the small couch adjacent to him observing him concerned.

"Ishida-kun, are you okay?"

"Yes, Orihime, I'm fine, don't worry about me," said Ishida, though he was of course lying. His glasses slipped down his nose and fell to the floor.

"Ishida-kun, would you like for me to heal you?" Asked Orihime kindly as she kneeled next to him and picked his glasses off the floor placing them on the center table.

"Huh?" It took his exhausted mind a moment to process what she said.

"Would you like for me to heal you?"

"Thank you Orihime, but you shouldn't bother, you see, I'm not actually hurt, I'm tired, what I am lacking is rest and energy; you would have nothing to heal," replied Ishida.

"Well in that case…a massage?" She suggested; Ishida lifted his head up and looked at her surprised.

"All right," he said closing his eyes. Orihime got on top of him straddling his hips; he opened his eyes surprised.

"Orihime?"

"Don't worry Ishida-kun I'm just going to massage you," said Orihime quickly; Ishida complied and closed his eyes again.

He fought back a sigh as her hands pressed against his tired flesh working their way up from the small of his back to his neck and then repeating the process again. Just as he was beginning to fall asleep she heard Orihime grunt; he raised his head to see what she wanted.

"I just thought of something Ishida-kun, what if I heal you with my hands while I massage you? But umm…I was wondering if you mind umm…taking off your shirt…and your pants?" Said Orihime blushing madly; Ishida looked at her surprised yet again.

"Well it would work better that way," said Orihime trying to justify herself; Ishida nodded and stood up; she looked away as he undressed; then she looked back at him as he spoke again; he was only wearing some black shorts.

"Perhaps the floor would be best?" Said Ishida; Orihime nodded.

They found a wide space and he lied face down on the carpet. She straddled him again and worked her healing hands on his silky flesh. She noted how soft and smooth it was, it was like running her hands through pure silk. His skin was beautiful; it wasn't the first time she had seen him like this but his skin seemed all that more flawless when encountered with this close. He let out a sigh as she massaged both of his arms simultaneously with one hand on each. As she worked her way lower to his wrists her body made closer contact with his and her chest pressed against his back slightly. She worked her way to his back again; her hands never breaking contact with his flesh.

She did break contact when she proceeded to work on his legs. She massaged his calves and slowly made her way up to his thighs, but stopped before she reached any area of discomfort. Once she was finished she sat up and grunted.

"Ishida-kun can you flip over? I'm not done yet."

Ishida did as she said and lied face up; too frightened to look at her he closed his eyes. She straddled him again, but not on his hips, rather his waist; she knew if she straddled his hips she would be encountering…other parts. She moved her hands on his carefully drawn out abs; she fought away the urge of tracing them with her fingertips and instead worked through the tense muscles. She made her way up to his chest and he flinched slightly at the contact but then quickly pushed the though aside. She went up to his biceps and was extra careful, the flesh was very tense and there seemed to be knots in his muscles. Just by looking at them one could see they were swollen. She worked carefully through the flesh and she could see that he was flinching a bit in pain. Her pressure on his muscles slowly intensified, and he turned his face away from her so she wouldn't see his pained expression.

She however noted this as his chest began to rise and fall quicker and his body grew tense. She massaged him more lightly, not wanting to cause him pain, then attempted to intensify the pressure only to see him flinch again. Suddenly she felt much sympathy towards him, that was the only excuse she could find for what she did next.

She lowered her face to one of his arms, and lightly skimmed her lips along his bicep. He opened his eyes in surprise, but then halfway closed them again as he delighted in the soft touch of her lips. She stopped and looked into his eyes; it scared her how much she could read them, but by the way he was looking at her she guessed he could read hers as well. Her eyes immersed into the depth of the ocean in his eyes, she no longer missed the sky, _why tire out one's wings when there's a perfectly good ocean to swim in?_ He blushed slightly and she smiled lightly. One of her hands made its way to his face and she ran her fingers along his cheek bone. Her fingertips made their way to his lips as her face drew closer to his; her eyes fixed with his. Her fingertips touched his lips slightly and her face was merely an inch from his, it seemed the only thing separating their lips was her own hand,

"Uryuu…kun…" she whispered as her eyes fluttered closed; her breath hitting his lips pleasantly. She removed her hand and leaned in closer. But just as her lips were a fraction of a millimeter from touching his, the door swung open freezing her where she was. It took her a moment to put her thoughts back together and she immediately got off of him standing up abruptly; she looked nervously at Renji and Rangiku.

"I was just giving Ishida-kun a massage!" Said Orihime scratching the back of her head nervously.

"Sure," said Renji.

"Then why is he almost naked?" Asked Rangiku raising an eyebrow.

"It was a body massage…you see…he was…very-tired-and-needed-one-really-bad!" Said Orihime with a huge grin on her face.

"Whatever, I'm calling it quits, see ya Rangiku," said Renji practically stumbling out; Orihime sighed relieved, they would probably both be too drunk to remember tomorrow.

"See ya, don't forget my money!"

"Rangiku-san, has Ichigo-kun left yet?"

"Yes, just a moment ago…so are you two gonna have sex or what?" Asked Rangiku walking towards her; she almost fell in the process.

"Umm…I need to go and…sleep! Yeah that's it, I need to go and sleep," said Orihime brightly rushing out of the room. Then Rangiku turned to look at Ishida; she seemed very impressed as her eyes danced along his body.

"Damn! The one night a hot piece of ass is lying practically naked in my living room and I have to be drunk!" Complained Rangiku stumbling out of the room. Ishida sat up and looked around the room; he blinked his eyes a couple of times.

"Did that really just happen?"

* * *

Ichigo walked towards the Kuchiki mansion; he felt pretty good about his day, he had actually made some progress in kidou. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself; suddenly he bumped into something and fell to the floor.

"Hey watch it!" He opened his eyes to see an angered Rukia Kuchiki on the floor.

"I'm so sorry Rukia are you all right?" Asked Ichigo as he immediately got up and helped her up.

"I swear Ichigo it will be your fault if this baby dies!"

"Come on Rukia you shouldn't joke about stuff like that, Byakuya and whoever the hell the father is would kill me," said Ichigo nervously.

"Yeah well you would deserve it!" Said Rukia dusting off her Yukata.

"Where are you going?" Asked Ichigo curiously.

"Yeah wouldn't you like to know," said Rukia turning away from him.

"Yes, I would, I should know at least that!" Said Ichigo angrily grabbing her by the arm and forcing her to look at him.

"What do you mean Kurosaki?" Said Rukia in the same angered tone.

"What do you mean what do I mean? You know perfectly well…what I mean…" said Ichigo wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him; she looked at him surprised.

"You won't let me know anything even though you know perfectly well I need an explanation…"

"Really? I beg to differ…"

"Stop saying crap like that Rukia! If anyone deserves to know it is me," said Ichigo tilting his face down to hers, "have you forgotten? Before the elders left we almost…" said Ichigo but he suddenly stopped; his fingertips traced her lips lightly as the hand around her waist pulled her closer to him.

"Ichigo I…" said Rukia, but he silenced her with his fingertips. Her eyes looked into his with strong emotion; his amber eyes appeared golden in the night.

"Don't say anything Rukia," said Ichigo; his lips were very close to hers, his breath already hitting her lips. Her eyes fluttered closed as she awaited his kiss. His lips lightly touched the corner of her lips, but then they pulled away and kissed her forehead.

She looked at him surprised as he let go of her; noticing her discontent, he smirked and patted her on the head; then he walked a couple of steps past her before stopping.

"You're going to see him aren't you? The father of your child." she remained silent. "If that bastard gives a shit about you he wont mind if you don't go, it's too late for you to be out Rukia, especially in your condition," said Ichigo, and with that he left.

Rukia stood there thoughtfully for a while. She waited for Ichigo to be out of view; then she placed her fingertips on the corner of her lips that Ichigo kissed. She looked down sadly and her hands fell limply on her sides. She looked up again, and walked back to her room.


	7. Chapter 7

All right, well here's another chapter, not long now t'ill the good stuff, you will soon be learning about the FOWD club, hehehe, that'll be pretty funny...

Well I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for your reviews!

* * *

_Training...Day Two…_

"What now?" Asked Ichigo annoyed.

"Are you and the boys done sweeping the front porch?" Asked Kyoraku.

"Yes, so when are we going to train?!"

"Train? We _are _training boys, I've always taught my boys the value of patience and calm, let the Hollow come to you, violence is not part of the job, it must only be used when all other methods have been exhausted," said Kyoraku looking out his office window and gazing at the passing birds as he sipped his tea. Nanao Ise rolled her eyes at him and continued with her paperwork.

"So what would you like for us to do now?" Asked Ishida also starting to grow impatient.

"Sit and drink tea with me," he said; the three boys sat with him by the short table and took a sip of the tea; immediately they all spit it out.

"This isn't tea this is…"

"Sake?" Said Kyoraku smirking.

"What do you think you're doing? Do you know you are giving alcohol to minors?!" Asked Ishida shaking in outrage.

"Eh, if minors today can handle sex then sake should be no big deal," said Kyoraku glancing up at Ishida; immediately Ishida blushed and looked away embarrassed; this did not go by unnoticed by Ichigo.

"What? Ishida, you've…?"

"I…" said Ishida blushing madly.

"It's been more than one?!" Said Ichigo shocked; even Chad was momentarily taken out of his quiet exterior, mirroring Ichigo's shock.

"Yes," said Ishida pushing up his glasses.

"Well who and why didn't you tell us about it?!" Said Ichigo still very shocked and practically screaming.

"It's…it's complicated, and you…how did you know? Have you been spying on me?" Asked Ishida angrily looking up at Kyoraku.

"Still don't remember it well do you? There's no reason why I shouldn't know, if you recall I was…" suddenly he stopped when Nanao walked over to him handing him a giant stack of paperwork.

"I'm finished Captain, now it's your turn to sign at the bottom of the papers, all 3,786 of them," she said; then she left out the door. Kyoraku looked at the stack of papers in front of him disappointed; then he looked at the three boys and a smile graced his face.

"No. Isn't forging illegal?" Said Ichigo immediately crossing his arms over his chest.

"They'll never know the difference, besides, they never check…"

"As much as I would enjoy this, I am afraid I have to leave," said Ishida standing up.

"What? Where?" Asked Ichigo.

"I have matters to attend to."

"I'm sure you do," said Kyoraku with a smug smile on his face; Ichigo and Chad looked at him confused as he left.

* * *

Rukia was lying down in a room in the Squad Four hospital. She looked out the window thoughtfully, and placed a hand on her still slim womb. She was startled when she suddenly heard someone walking into the room.

"Uryuu?" Rukia sat up and Ishida sat next to her on the bed. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to come," he said placing a hand on her womb; this shocked her at first but then she relaxed.

"We need to talk."

"About what?" Asked Rukia.

"About the ba-" suddenly they were interrupted as someone else walked into the room; it was Orihime; immediately Ishida withdrew his hand. Orihime looked a little confused but then she smiled eagerly.

"That's so cute Ishida-kun! You came to see Kuchiki-san's baby's progress!"

"Yeah, she is a good friend Orihime; there is no reason why I shouldn't," said Ishida laughing nervously.

"Are you staying for the ultrasound?"

"I'd love to, but I just remembered, I probably need to go back to Squad Eight," he said, and he ran out of there.

"Well he was in a hurry," said Orihime blinking confused, "so are you ready Kuchiki-san?" Rukia smiled at her and nodded; at that moment Rangiku and Hitsugaya walked into the room. Hitsugaya had a bouquet of roses in his hands; as soon as he saw Orihime there he hid them behind his back.

"Good afternoon ladies," he said bowing slightly.

"Kuchiki-san! You're so lucky to be getting so many visitors today!" Smiled Orihime delighted.

"Well, I umm…I should probably go," said Hitsugaya trying to get out again, but he crashed into Captain Unohana; he fell to the floor with the flowers on his side. The flowers were fine, but they were now revealed; Orihime looked like she was about to cry of happiness.

"Oh my! This day is full of so many cute wonderful moments! You brought Kuchiki-san flowers!"

"Well, yes," said Hitsugaya smiling, and he stood up and handed the flowers to Rukia; she smiled at him.

"I just wanted to wish you luck on your first ultrasound Kuchiki-san," said Hitsugaya bowing slightly.

"Thank you," smiled Rukia smelling the flowers.

"Well now that you're here you can stay and watch Captain Hitsugaya," said Unohana.

"Really? I can?" Asked Hitsugaya surprised.

"Yes of course. And you can watch too Ishida-sama," said Unohana; an embarrassed Ishida walked in through the door; Orihime looked at him confused.

Hitsugaya, Rangiku, and Orihime sat down on chairs while Ishida remained standing by Rukia's bed. Meanwhile Unohana uncovered Rukia's belly and covered it in a purple gel. She ran her hands through it and concentrated her kidou on her womb. Suddenly a hologram appeared above her belly showing a tiny embryo; the heartbeat resounded all over the room. Rukia smiled, and so did everyone else; Ishida slid his hand down and gave her shoulder a small squeeze.

"Oh look it's the little Kuchiki!" Cooed Rangiku.

"He's still so small and he's already so cute Kuchiki-san!" Said Orihime looking a bit too excited.

"Your baby looks very healthy Kuchiki-san; he has a very strong reiatsu."

"I'm glad," said Rukia; a hint of maternal pride on her face.

* * *

Ichigo and Chad were trimming the bushes in the Squad Eight garden while Kyoraku was sunbathing and Nanao fanning him with an oversized fan.

"We're done," sighed Ichigo as he and Chad walked over to Kyoraku; Kyoraku sat up and signaled to them with his hand to sit down as well.

"What's taking Ishida?" Said Ichigo.

"Well I'm guessing Rukia's appointment is taking longer than expected," said Kyoraku.

"What? How do you know that?"

"Well that's where everyone is right now, Orihime, Hitsugaya, Rangiku; Ukitake said he would be going as well, but something popped up last minute. Why aren't _you _there?"

"I didn't know," said Ichigo a bit disappointed.

* * *

A while later, Ichigo and Chad left to Squad Eleven's training grounds; there Kenpachi was waiting for them holding his zanpakuto over his shoulder. He looked at Ichigo and grinned.

"Hey there Kurosaki! Ready to fight?"

"Yeah I'm in the mood to kick your ass alright!" Kenpachi immediately ran towards him attacking him with his zanpakuto, and Ichigo countered by releasing his Shikai.

Chad looked at them for a while before being attacked by Ikkaku; immediately he began to battle as well. Ishida arrived a while after their battles began, and he stood there looking around; all the Shinigami there were busy fighting; some of them even fought without zanpakutos; they were drunk and beating each other with brute strength. He felt something tug at his shirt and looked down to find Yachiru looking up at him brightly.

"I saw you so lonely here Ishida-kun, so I found someone to fight with you."

"Huh?" He looked over to the man standing in front of him; it was Yumichika Ayasegawa. He ran a hand through his hair and then looked at him.

"Care to fight?" he said taking out his zanpakuto and releasing it into Shikai form; immediately Ishida released his Quincy bow and the two began to battle.

* * *

Orihime and Rukia were sitting in the Kuchiki Estate's gardens. They were having a picnic and sitting on a blanket; Byakuya was sitting on the grass about a meter away from them. Orihime and Rukia were both eating, and Rukia ate the food at an alarming rate; Orihime looked at her surprised.

"Wow…little Kuchiki must be really hungry huh Kuchiki-san?"

"Yeah, sometimes he wakes me up in the middle of the night with cravings, doesn't he nii-sama." Byakuya didn't reply; he only looked at her from the corner of his eye and turned back to look at the blossom trees.

"Well you should eat up so he could get big and strong!" Said Orihime cheerfully placing her hand on Rukia's womb. Then suddenly she felt it, the strong reiatsu from within her; she widened her eyes surprised. She wasn't the only one that noticed; by now Byakuya was turning to look at Rukia's stomach shocked.

"Wow! It even tickles my hand," giggled Orihime, "you want to feel it Kuchiki-sama?"

"I'd rather not," said Byakuya.

"Oh come on, your nephew is so strong, just feel it for yourself," giggled Orihime.

"Orihime really it's all-" but before Rukia finished what she was saying, Byakuya was kneeling in front of her with his hand on her womb, he looked at it curiously and ran his fingers along it.

Orihime wished she had a camera to take pictures of them, they looked so…it was difficult to describe it, there was a serenity there. She thought it was so cute to see Kuchiki-san with her brother; it reminded her of her own brother and how much she missed him. She turned to look at the floor remembering him '_Sora, may you rest in peace'_. Orihime was suddenly distracted from her daydream, when she heard Rukia shriek; she turned to see Byakuya pressing his hand a bit too roughly on her stomach; he didn't stop even thought Rukia was in pain.

"Kuchiki-sama what are you doing? You're hurting her!" Byakuya glanced at Orihime coldly and then let go of Rukia; he returned to his previous sitting area.

"The child is too weak to be a Kuchiki, if this does not change by the time of his birth I will not accept him into my home, is that understood Rukia?" Asked Byakuya coldly not even turning to look at her; Orihime turned to look at Rukia who looked like she was a bout to cry but suppressed it.

"Understood nii-sama," she said slightly bowing.

* * *

Time at the Squad Eleven Training Grounds went by quickly since they were all immersed in their fighting. All of them had grown stronger; it was already nightfall and they arrived to the conclusion that all three battles were a tie.

"You got pretty good kid," said Kenpachi.

"No I didn't, otherwise I would have kicked your ass all the way to Hueco Mundo," smirked Ichigo.

"Good to see you kids," said Kenpachi patting Ichigo and Chad on the back; then he turned to look at Ishida, "surprised to see you around here so soon Ishida. I thought you had enough training for I don't…a century?"

"We came to see Kuchiki-san," explained Ishida.

"Wait? You've been here recently?" Asked Ichigo surprised.

"Sure he has, he spent part of July and all of August here training. I taught him a thing or two about brute strength huh kid?" Said Kenpachi punching Ishida on the shoulder; Ishida smiled weakly.

"Really I didn't know that, he didn't say anything," said Ichigo looking at Ishida suspiciously.

"Well come on, dinner's on me," said Kenpachi; they all followed him to a bar.

Ichigo was playing speed with Ikkaku while Kenpachi was hand wrestling Chad and Yachiru cheered Kenpachi on; Ishida was sewing Ayasegawa robes which he had accidentally ripped during battle. Once Ikkaku was beaten for the sixth time he finally gave up.

"I'm getting tired of this game, how about we get ourselves some sake huh?"

"Grab as many as you guys want, it's on me," said Kenpachi sitting by the same table as them.

"No I really shouldn't I…" said Ichigo but before he said anything else Kenpachi poured the sake into his mouth; he had a difficult time swallowing it but he did; then he looked furiously at Kenpachi.

"I thought I told you I don't-" but Kenpachi did it again; this time Ichigo looked a bit dazed.

"See, doesn't that feel better?" Smirked Kenpachi.

"Yeah, yeah it does, give me another one!" said Ichigo; the waiter brought mores sake to their table.

"Do you guys want any?" Kenpachi asked Ishida and Chad, but the two stood up.

"No thank you, Chad and I will be heading back to the Squad Ten barracks," said Ishida; the two left.

"All right, but you don't know what you're missing!"

A couple of hours later, Ichigo, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Ayasegawa, and even Yachiru were completely drunk out of their minds. Ayasegawa was doing an odd dance that was between the Macarena and the tango, while Ikkaku punched the air with his fists; Yachiru was swirling around trying to make herself more dizzy because she wanted to see the 'pretty stars'. Although Kenpachi was pretty drunk, he didn't seem to be having any odd side effects though; he just sat there listening to Ichigo blabber on about chocolate, his orange hair, and bullies he fought back in school; Kenpachi just nodded bored.

"Ken-chan, I'm leaving, I'll see you tomorrow," said Yachiru stumbling towards the door, but before she opened it she collapsed drunk on the ground.

"She can be a real drunk sometimes," sighed Kenpachi.

"Well, I need to go, I don't want to wake anybody up if I come back too late. Stupid Byakuya! Argh! Why isn't he impressed by anything, I mean here I am always trying to score points with him to get with his sister but the man is too damn snobby! Sometimes I think maybe I should just take Rukia with me to the world of the living and erase her memory so she won't worry about what he thinks…"

"Rukia Kuchiki? I didn't know you liked Ukitake's fukutaichou, I mean I knew you were friends but…" Ichigo immediately stood up, stumbling a bit as he did; then he place a hand on his hip and looked at Kenpachi annoyed.

"Of course I don't like Rukia Kuchiki, I am in love with her! I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her, heck, I wouldn't even know anything about any of you if it wasn't for her! She changed my life, and I love her Kenpachi, I love her!" Said Ichigo frantically shaking him by the shoulders.

"Okay okay I hear ya!"

"Good," said Ichigo letting go of him and crossing his arms over his chest, "and tell whoever the hell the father of her kid is to back off! Rukia's mine!" And with that Ichigo stumbled out of the bar.

"Heh! I wonder if he knows it wasn't sake," smirked Kenpachi as he turned to look at his three officers.

"Mayuri's invention, all the effects of alcohol but without the clouded judgement," smirked Ikkaku.

"It feels very real though," said Yachiru too dizzy to stand.

"So everything Ichigo told you about Kuchiki-san was of his own will?" Asked Ayasegawa.

"Of course, like I said, his judgement isn't affected, but it's funny to see what kids do when they think they're drunk," laughed Kenpachi.

* * *

Orihime was sitting outside the Squad Ten barracks staring at the moon. She turned around when she saw Chad and Ishida arrive. Chad walked inside and Ishida was about to as well before Orihime called him.

"Ishida-kun! Over here!" she said waving her hand at him; he looked surprised to see her there, but he walked towards her nonetheless.

"Yes Orihime?"

"Come, sit with me," she said taking his hand and pulling him next to her. Ishida looked at her a bit confused, she gazed intently at the moon and was still clasping his hand.

"It's such a pretty moon isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is," said Ishida observing the full new moon.

"That was a very nice thing you did today."

"Huh?"

"Kuchiki-san was very happy that so many people came to visit her. Somehow I think deep inside she thought nobody else loved her baby."

"Why would you say that Orihime?"

"I don't know, she has looked very sad lately; I spent some time with her today and she looked really sad. Byakuya-sama was with us the entire time; he made it look like I was going to hurt her or something, and Kuchiki-san looked very embarrassed about it. Not only that, but the way he treated her, it looks like Byakuya-sama doesn't want the baby…"

"Well, you know nobles, they're very strict and picky about who they let into their families."

"Uryu-kun…"

"Yes?"

"You wouldn't treat a sibling like that would you?" Asked Orihime playing with the collar of his shirt; he gulped nervously.

"No Orihime, why do you ask?"

"Well just saying, in the future when you're…married, and your wife has a baby…you would love him right? You would be a good father?"

"Of course, I would love my son very much, even if others didn't love him and even if the situation was difficult and complicated, I would love him nonetheless…with all my heart, he's a part of me after all, my love for him and honor as a Quincy's will not allow me to leave him, even if my family were against it," said Ishida all of a sudden very seriously.

"Wow Uryu-kun! You sound so honest, the woman that marries you will be very lucky," said Orihime embracing him tightly; Ishida returned her embrace. Once they let go of each other Ishida kept his arm around her as they both watched the full new moon.

* * *

Ichigo stumbled through the halls of the Kuchiki estate, when once again he bumped into Rukia knocking her down. She stood up enraged, and was even angrier when she saw what condition he was in.

"Ichigo you baka! If you weren't so painfully drunk I would kick your ass right now! What the hell were you thinking? Look at you! Who did this to you?!" Said Rukia infuriated.

"Kenpachi…"

"Kenpachi! Argh! I should have known, and for a moment I was gonna start blaming poor Renji!" said Rukia helping him up.

"Shut up Rukia you're hurting my brain," said Ichigo covering his ears.

"Yeah well that headache is your own damn fault for drinking so much!"

"Whatever, I'm going to bed," said Ichigo stumbling away; he almost fell but Rukia caught him. Ichigo was so large in comparison to her, that she almost fell to the ground. She was saved by the wall, she ended up leaning back on it with Ichigo draped over her; his large frame completely covered hers.

"Ichigo, get off of me!"

"Whaaat?" Asked Ichigo confused looking at her.

"I said get off of me, I can't breathe you idiot you're suffocation me!" Ichigo looked at her curiously; she gasped when he cupped her chin and tilted her face up closer to his.

"You're pretty for someone so short," he said; his amber orbs looking into hers intensely.

"Ichigo you're dru-" he crushed his lips to hers passionately dropping his hands to her hips. Her eyes widened and she tried to push him away but he was too strong. She tried pushing him away again and he growled and deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue inside her mouth.

She could taste the sweetness of his mouth and she found she liked the taste of it; his hands were firm on her hips and his fingers danced pleasantly along them massaging her. She weakly tried to push him away again and one of his hands slipped to the small of her back, his fingers traced her lower spine bringing a sigh from her; that was a part of her body that tired more than all others since she entered her pregnancy. Giving up she wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss; it surprised her how much easier it seemed to just give in to him, not only easier, but amazingly pleasant; she couldn't get enough of his tongue dancing with hers, exploring the depths of her mouth. They remained that way until both were breathless; she looked into his eyes dazed and he embraced her.

"Rukia I…" but he stopped and pulled away from her when he felt two guards drawing closer. He almost stumbled when he tried to walk towards them.

"Is there something wrong Kuchiki-san?" Asked one of the guards looking at Ichigo dangerously.

"No, he just needs to be carried to his room; he's a bit drunk."

"Are you sure you're all right Kuchiki-san? Kuchiki-sama told us if-"

"Everything's fine, now take him to his room."

"Hai," they said and helped a stumbling Ichigo walk towards his room; before he was out of sight, he gave Rukia one last longing glance.

"Idiot Ichigo, why did you do that? You don't know what you're getting yourself into," she said to herself sadly.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry I took so long to update, but summer activities and what not have given me writer's block. I'm still trying work my way out of it...maybe attending less soirees will help...why must summers be so full of all nighters...? Anyway, here goes chapter 8. I promise the next chapter wiil be VERY exciting! It will totally kick derrier! This one might be a bit off, remember, I'm still working through this dreadful writer's block, so I do apologize for that.

Enjoy!

* * *

_Last Day of Training_

Rukia wandered the Kuchiki Estate very early that morning; she had another nightmare and could not go back to sleep, it was only five in the morning and dawn was just beginning to break. She walked towards the small garden closest to her room, it wasn't much of a garden, but rather one of the small squares of nature in between the many halls of the Kuchiki Manor. She sat on a bench right under a tree she closed her eyes, his wonderful scent wandered the air.

All this time she had never noticed how wonderful he smelled, not until the act which impregnated her took place. Back then she was frightened; she never had imagined she would become involved with him in that way, but it happened, and although she hated to admit it, she loved it, and even craved more of it. It was no longer necessary for them to participate in such acts, but they did so nonetheless. Unohana told her that continuing their 'activities' was good for the pregnancy; it not only prepared her body for labor, but the child craved his father's reiatsu, and intercourse was the way in which he acquired it.

She was beginning to grow used to the idea of being with him, the father of her child, that is…until he arrived, that stupid carrot-top Ichigo, he ruined everything! Now she knew she could never be happy; he was drunk and probably kissed her by mistake, but she couldn't go back after that. She could ignore it, and she would, but the act would never be erased from her mind; a moment of his lips on hers was better than anything, better than the sun, better that the wind...

She looked up at the trees and closed her eyes as the blossoms showered upon her. The light touch of the petals on her face relaxed her, but the light touch of his fingertips relaxed her even more. He was here, she knew it, his scent, his unmistakably soft touch. He was standing behind her; his fingertips massaging her scalp gently and then skimming down her jaw line, then they fell softly down the sides of her neck. His grip tightened on her shoulders as he kneaded her tired flesh sensually. He briefly kissed the side of her neck, and as quickly as he came he left...

She opened her eyes and looked back at the sky; every second the sun seemed to reveal itself more. A thought slipped in her mind, and before she knew it she was in front of Ichigo's room; she hesitated a bit, but then she opened the door careful not to wake him up, and sat on the floor beside his futon. She observed his sleeping expression; the practically permanent frown on his face erased as he slept soundly; she smiled lightly at this; then she frowned again when her thoughts went back to the man in the garden.

'_Ever since Ichigo arrived, your touch is not the same, it no longer holds such power over me. I'm sorry, forgive me, to think I loved you…but Ichigo…with Ichigo it's different, now everything has changed…_' she thought to herself.

She looked down at Ichigo and couldn't resist the urge to touch his face. Her pale fingertips touched the corner of his lips and remained there for a second, before lightly tracing his lips. She leaned down, her lips very close to his; she wanted to do it, she did, but the child inside of her stopped her, warned her, he moved in her stomach uneasily; this surprised her, he was not developed enough to do that. Her baby saw Ichigo as the enemy, the enemy trying to separate his parents; he was somehow very aware of the world outside of the safety of his mother's womb. She smirked, she shouldn't be surprised, he was after all no ordinary baby…

She lowered a hand to her stomach and caressed it lightly to ease her child's discomfort; once he was relaxed, she kissed Ichigo's forehead. She wanted to feel his lips moving eagerly with hers, but that could not be; he could not know of this, he shouldn't even know that she was here. She blushed and then moved away from him; she looked at him one last time before leaving his room.

* * *

Not long after Rukia left Ichigo woke up; he sat up on his futon and held his head; it was still hurting from yesterday. He closed his eyes and then widened them when he remembered the previous day's events. He kissed her; not only did he kiss her but he practically forced her, she pushed him away repeatedly, and the thing was, he knew what he was doing. He hoped dearly that she thought otherwise though; maybe she would forgive him because he was drunk and according to her didn't know what he was doing. He looked around the room confused; he felt her reiatsu, it was unmistakable, was she here a moment ago? Trying to put his thoughts of Rukia aside, he dressed in his Shinigami robes and left to the Squad Twelve Training Grounds.

* * *

"What do you mean we're not training?!" Exclaimed Ichigo; Mayuri Kurotsuchi looked at him unaffected.

"That is correct Kurosaki, my Squad and I are currently working on a very important scientific project. Unless you are willing to hand over the Quincy, or maybe your own body, I've never tested on a Vizard before," said Kurotsuchi thoughtfully.

"Hell no!" replied Ichigo immediately.

"Well then, Nemu," he turned to look at Nemu and she nodded, she first kicked out Chad, and then a screaming Ichigo. She looked at Ishida and hesitated a bit.

"Nemu we've gone over this," said Kurotsuchi impatiently. Nemu nodded and lifted him in her arms bridal style; he looked at her shocked, she was so strong, then again he should have expected it. She set him down more gently than the others who were still on the floor where she last threw them.

"Uryuu Ishida you are a fascinating male specimen both physically and mentally," she said stoically, before leaving back to her master; the three of them looked very confused, especially Ishida.

"What the hell was that? What do these women see in you anyway?" Said Ichigo perplexed; Ishida shrugged.

"This is stupid, we completely wasted our time with both Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Kyoraku," said Ichigo annoyed.

"Hopefully Captain Ukitake will make better use of our time," said Ishida lifting his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Kurosaki-kun Ishida-kun! Sado-kun!" Screamed Orihime running behind them trying to catch up; the three immediately stopped.

"Orihime?" Said Ishida confused.

"I want to come with you, Kuchiki-san will be there and I want to visit her," smiled Orihime.

"You're more than welcomed to come Orihime," smiled Ichigo; Orihime blushed pleasantly surprised by his reaction.

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun!" She beamed, and walked the rest of the way by his side; Ishida chose to ignore the jealousy running through his veins.

"I wonder what Captain Ukitake will have us do," said Ishida.

"Who knows maybe he'll have us clean his office…." said Ichigo still annoyed about his time with two of the captains being less than productive.

"There is no reason to be so cynical Ichigo, besides, Ukitake is an excellent Captain, I'm sure he will have something excellent prepared for us," said Ishida beginning to grow annoyed with Ichigo.

When they are about to enter the office building Kiyone and Sentaro appear in front of them pointing their zanpakutos at them; seeing that it is only them, they lower their weapons and bow apologetically.

"Forgive us, we only attempted to protect Ukitake-taichou," they both said in unison.

"It's okay, you meant no harm," smiled Orihime.

"Follow us, we will take you to Ukitake-taichou," said Kiyone; they all followed her and Sentaro inside.

"Ukitake-taichou Kurosaki Ichigo and…" said Kiyone as she opened the door; she froze and stopped what she was saying; she looked shocked. Ichigo moved ahead to see what was going on; he too was at a loss for words and completely shocked.

Ukitake was lying face-up on his desk breathing heavily, and Rukia was on top of him straddling him; her hands were on his chest. All the paperwork and items that were on the desk were apparently thrown abruptly on the floor. Rukia froze for a second; then she immediately got off of him straightening out her robes and blushing madly. Ukitake stood up abruptly as well and cleared his throat before speaking.

"I um…was choking due to severe cough and Rukia was using her kido to heal me," he explained quickly. Kiyone and Sentaro bought this quite easily, but the rest of the group didn't believe him.

Ichigo looked at Ukitake suspiciously while Orihime looked back and forth at Ukitake and down to Rukia's womb; she smiled delighted. '_That's it! Ukitake-sama must be the daddy of Kuchiki-san's baby, they do make a cute couple! Ukitake-sama has a certain…older man charm…why didn't I see this before? He's so handsome! It would have been impossible for Kuchiki-san to never notice that_!' thought Orihime brightly; it took all of her self control not to burst out happily into giggles.

"We will be working on your kido today; I spoke to Byakuya and he thinks it would be useful for you to learn more of the spells," said Ukitake; after he spoke there was only awkward silence.

"Rukia will be helping you since she does very well in that area," he said shortly.

"Follow me," said Rukia; the four followed her outside to the Squad Thirteen training grounds. She helped Chad and Ishida first; they seemed to comprehend pretty quickly, she asked them if they needed help, but they declined; there was a certain person she was not so thrilled to have to face. She knew it could not be avoided, he was sitting under a tree and she approached him. She stood in front of him and he stood up as well; she noted that he looked very angry, but yet did not voice anything.

"Ready to begin?" she asked; he nodded.

"All right, so we will begin with the binding spells," she said; she recited the incantation and then told Ichigo to do it.

"Bakudo number one, sai," he said binding Rukia's wrists behind her back.

"Very good, now try number four," she said once he released her.

"Bakudo number four, hainawa," he said; she nodded in approval, but then looked confused when he did not release her. He walked towards her and gently pushed her against the tree.

"What's your problem you baka?! Release me this instant!"

"No, not until you tell me who the father is…"

"Ichigo I already told you, I can't, it would do great damage to his honor…"

"Is that because he's a captain? Your captain?" He asked; she froze, but then seemed to relax.

"How could you say such a thing Ichigo?! Ukitake-taichou is…"

"What? Too honorable? Fits the bill doesn't he? I could imagine the scandal if he really was the father," he said; Rukia's eyes widened.

"What is your problem? What does it matter to you who the father is, it's none of your business!" Ichigo immediately let her go and looked away a bit painfully.

"Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry," said Ichigo walking away; Rukia watched him as he left, suppressing her want to run after him.

* * *

The six hours of training seemed to last an eternity to Rukia; the situation between her and Ichigo became very awkward. When they no longer needed her help to train she sat under a tree with Orihime; Rukia began to grow annoyed with her constant talk about the baby. _'Kuchiki-san can I be the auntie?…let's go shopping for clothes when we get to the world of the living….who's the father?…can I touch your tummy?…I can be your babysitter if you want…what was it like to have…?…did it hurt when you lost your…?_' Rukia's replies were '_I guess…okay…can't tell you…go ahead…sure, I'll need one anyway…a little bit awkward I guess…yes, it was very painful.'_

She needed to get away from this, she needed to have a couple of hours without discussing her current issue. She stood up suddenly and walked away; she realized how rude she must have been to Orihime, but she very much needed a break, and she knew just where to go.

She walked over to the Squad Ten barracks; she knew she would be there right now. She stood in front of her door and knocked; a very tired Rangiku walked out of the room. She covered her eyes from the sudden daylight, and she looked confused.

"Morning already eh? Well come in," she said; Rukia walked inside with her.

"So to what do I owe the honor? You haven't dropped by ever since Ichigo and the others came," said Rangiku as she served herself and Rukia some tea.

"That's just it, I'm tired of everyone making a big deal about the baby. It's just a baby; it's not like I'm popping out a nuclear bomb, whatever that is…"

"Rukia, this isn't just a baby…you know that."

"I know, but can't the other captains be a little more discreet? I don't need all of this attention; why did Ichigo even have to find out? Wouldn't it have been better for me to leave to the world of the living without them finding out? I'm sure his father would have taken good care of us all on his own," said Rukia placing a hand on her stomach.

"Yes, but you know he can't do that, he's too busy, besides, with that baby's strong reiatsu Hollows will be practically raining on you," said Rangiku taking a sip of her tea.

"I suppose you're right," sighed Rukia, "I just want to pretend, at least for a moment…that everything's normal again and that I'm not pregnant."

"In that case, let's do like bachelorettes and go out tonight."

"Huh?"

"Ikkaku and Ayasegawa are having a party tonight; they reserved a bar and it's VIP only, I'm in that list and I can bring whoever I want," said Rangiku triumphantly.

"But I can't do that I'm…"

"What? Pregnant? I thought you wanted a break from that, besides, I'll take care of you, I'll make sure you don't drink or do anything stupid," smiled Rangiku.

* * *

"All right give me another one!" Said Rangiku to the bar tender as he poured more sake in her bowl; she was so drunk that she could barely stand; Rukia was sitting next to her having some tea.

"Honestly Rukia, once this whole thing with your baby is over you and I have to do this more often; we'll go back into the dating scene and party! You don't know how honored I am that you chose me to confide in!" Said Rangiku happily as she downed another drink; Rukia smiled at her. Rangiku was a lively soul; she was glad she chose her; she was the only one that could seem to lighten the load on her shoulders.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," said Rukia; then she noticed Renji walk inside; as soon as he saw her a smile graced his face and he ran over to hug her so tightly that it hurt. He seemed a bit drunk; he smelled like alcohol

"It's been a while, you don't know how much I've wanted to see you."

"Well you could have visited anytime you wanted, you simply chose not to," said Rukia crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh come on, I needed to you know…get over the shock about your…"

"Well there's no need to talk about that now, come on…drinking contest, you and me."

"You really think you should?" He asked skeptically.

"What? Too scared to lose to a pregnant woman?"

"Of course not," he replied picking up some sake; she did the same. By now Rangiku was passed out; before they knew it, Renji and Rukia were surrounded by a crowd of spectators observing them closely to see who won their drinking contest. Ayasegawa was coaching Rukia while Ikkaku was coaching Renji; Ikkaku gave Renji some water to rinse his mouth and a bucket to spit it out in while Ayasegawa gave Rukia a massage.

"All right Rukia, show those barbarians that the beautiful can also excel in such matters," said Ayasegawa flipping his hair to the side; Rukia nodded seriously. As soon as Rukia was about to take the next shot Ukitake and Byakuya walked inside; they both appeared very upset. In a moment they were both in front of her; Byakuya glared at her while Ukitake shook his head in disapproval.

"What a disgrace you are Rukia, look at yourself, a Kuchiki should not behave in such a barbaric manner," said Byakuya coldly.

"Nii-sama really, I'm fine," said Rukia attempting to get up, but she almost fell; in a flash she found herself in Ukitake's arms.

"Ukitake-sama, what pretty eyes you have," said Rukia dazed as she pinched his cheek; Byakuya took her from him.

"I will take care of this," said Byakuya, but before he left the bar he paused and looked down at Rukia; her body was glowing blue with the incoming flow of reiatsu; he looked back and saw that fifty percent of the Shinigami in there were fainted on the floor; another twenty percent were very weak and struggling to stay awake.

"Captain Ukitake, what is this?"

"It is what we feared, Rukia needs to leave the Soul Society now, it seems the alcohol affected the child just as much as the mother; like his mother he has lost control, only that when he loses control he brings damage to much more than a family name. We need to move her now before the situation worsens; getting her into a gigai will stop the child's absorption of reiatsu. I will go call the others; Kurosaki is probably at the Kuchiki Estate," said Ukitake solemnly, Byakuya nodded and left with Rukia in his arms.

* * *

Byakuya ran quickly through the streets of Sereitei. He was breathing heavily; the baby's intake of reiatsu was also affecting him; if he would have been any weaker he would have fainted like all the others. As soon as he arrived to the manor he found Captain Soi Fong in front waiting for him.

"Captain Soi Fong," he said bowing slightly.

"Byakuya," said Soi Fong meeting his gaze a bit coldly.

"Nii-sama, doesn't Soi-chan look pretty, you know…I've always thought she was gorgeous!" Beamed Rukia in her drunken state.

"Was it not your duty to ensure that nothing happened to Kuchiki Rukia or the child?" Asked Soi Fong a bit annoyed; Byakuya didn't say anything he just walked past her.

"All those leaving Soul Society will be leaving in a matter of minutes; I suggest you prepare your things to leave," said Byakuya; Soi Fong nodded and in a matter of seconds she was gone.

Byakuya walked to Ichigo's room and opened the door abruptly; Ichigo was sleeping and stood up panicked at the sudden intrusion.

"Geez can't you knock?!" He asked Byakuya furiously; then his eyes shot towards Rukia who was glowing blue and was obviously observing currents of reiatsu.

"Ichigo, look nii-sama it's pretty Ichigo! He's so cute I just wanna hug him and do things to him that I can't say out loud!" Said Rukia giggling; Byakuya ignored her but Ichigo's face turned red.

"You will need to leave Soul Society earlier than expected, Rukia's actions have caused the child to absorb massive amounts of reiatsu."

"How bad is it?"

"Half of the men in a bar have fainted due to loss of reiatsu," said Byakuya, Ichigo stood up and took Rukia from Byakuya's arms and Byakuya looked him solemnly in the eyes.

"Ensure that she takes all of her medicines and follows step by step the instructions given to her by Captain Unohana. I will put this simply Kurosaki, if anything happens to Rukia or the child, I will kill you." He said very seriously placing the medicines inside one of Rukia's pockets; Ichigo looked at him solemnly and nodded.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello y'all!

Well, I know I said the father's identity would be revealed in Chapter 10, but it will most likely be eleven, you must understand, we must let FOWD do their job LOl!

Anyway, hope you enjoy this, let me know what you think.

* * *

_"…hmm, the baby isn't asking for your spirit energy; this is just your excuse to get into my…" giggled Rukia._

"Rukia?" Said Ichigo confused. Rukia immediately opened her eyes and looked around. She was lying down on Ichigo's bed and Ichigo was sitting on the chair next to his desk looking a bit worried.

"What…what happened?" She asked sitting up; it was morning, she must have been dreaming, but it felt so real…perhaps she had grown too used to his touch, her mind could replay every sensation of him without him having to touch her.

"You were making sounds in your sleep; I thought you were in pain," said Ichigo.

"Oh," said Rukia embarrassed; she couldn't hide the strong blush forming on her cheeks, "I'm fine, it was just a dream," she smiled.

"Okay, well Yuzu fixed breakfast; I'll wait for you downstairs," said Ichigo a bit awkwardly; the situation between them was still a bit strange. He looked at her one last time and then left the room.

She stood up and walked towards the window; she looked at the blue sky above and sighed. She couldn't believe the stunt she pulled yesterday. Her mind was still a bit hazed but she remembered the highlights of the night. Getting drunk with Renji and Rangiku, Byakuya and Ukitake showing up, her baby losing control and absorbing the spiritual energy of everyone and everything that crossed his path, being rushed to the world of the living…even vomiting on Urahara as he helped her get into her gigai. She had disappointed and harmed so many people in one night, not to mention made a complete fool of herself. She sighed once again, and then went to the restroom.

* * *

"Coming!" Said Ishida when he heard the doorbell ring; he walked towards the door.

"Hey there Ishida! We just thought we'd drop by for breakfast," said Renji patting his back; he brought Ikkaku and Ayasegawa along with him.

"What are you two doing here?" Asked Ishida surprised.

"Well we just though we'd come and check how Rukia is doing this morning, we were very concerned yesterday you know," said Ikkaku smiling nervously; it was very apparent he was lying.

"If you really wanted to check on her, which I doubt you do, she's at Ichigo's house, besides, absorbing all that reiatsu would make her stronger not sicken her, so why are you here?" Asked Ishida annoyed he already knew why they were here, and knowing this he felt like smacking the perverts behind the head. Not that he cared that they were sniffing after a certain Captain's behind, but the fact that they would bring their dirty intentions to his house bothered him .

"Well, Renji told us about that breakfast Captain Soi Fong said she'd fix for you, and we umm…we're just a bit hungry that's all," said Ayasegawa scratching the back of his head nervously.

"I'll make a scene if you don't let us in," threatened Renji; Ishida let them in; knowing Renji he didn't doubt that he'd make a scene; if his father got word from the neighbors of Ishida's questionable acquaintances he would investigate and find out that he was allowing a shinigami…not only a shinigami but a Captain, to live under his roof.

Ishida brought them into the kitchen and brought them some tea; they remained silent for a few seconds until Ikkaku cleared his throat and spoke.

"So umm…where's Captain Soi Fong?" Asked Ikkaku looking at the rice cooker filled with rice.

"I have not seen her yet, she awoke before I did and left to the market to get some groceries," said Ishida.

"Oh," said Ikkaku a bit disappointedly; then his frown turned into a smile as a very revealing Soi Fong walked through the doorway carrying a large paper grocery bag and placing it on the table. The jaw of every man in the room dropped; Ishida was the only one to keep some self control, but even he gulped as his eyes scanned the tempting woman in front of him.

"Captain Soi Fong, did you wear those clothes to the marketplace?" Asked Ishida nervously.

"Yes, why? Is there a problem with my attire?" Asked Soi Fong a bit bothered.

"Well I umm…it's not very appropriate," said Ishida.

"Oh? But I read articles about modern clothing in the world of the living; and it seemed that many seemed to favor this apparel."

"What was the name of the magazine?" Asked Ishida.

"Oh I don't remember, it was American, what was it? …Maxim…I believe…?"

"Well, that explains a lot," said Ishida sheepishly. Soi Fong was wearing extremely short leather shorts, ; they were so short that one could see a fraction of her buttocks; they were also very low rise; giving a good view of her hip bone and only a fraction from revealing other things. She also wore a black leather tube shirt that showed a lot of cleavage while at the same time revealing most of her stomach. Her hair was up in a bun and allowed for a good look of her long graceful neck and the perfect skin of her back and shoulders.

"Oh, well in that case you will have to assist me in obtaining the proper attire," said Soi Fong; she prepared pancake batter and began flipping pancakes and frying eggs. Ishida glared at Renji when he noticed him scanning his eyes up and down her body.

"Here you go," said Soi Fong placing a plate in front of Ishida; as she leaned down to place everything else on the table, he got a good view of her…

"Captain Soi Fong, it's fine, really, just…you can borrow some of my clothes until we buy you the proper attire," said Ishida trying to calm his speeding heart. She looked at him sternly and then left the kitchen, did she really have no idea how much temptation she was causing?

"Party pooper," said Renji.

"Yeah just because you get to see her walk around in a bathrobe. Oh, which brings me to…have you run into her while she's taking a shower?" Asked Ikkaku excitedly.

"No! Stop it will you?!" Said Ishida annoyed…how could they get him into this mess? He sighed remembering the previous night's events

...

_Ichigo, Orihime, Ishida, Chad, Hitsugaya, Soi Fong, Rangiku, Renji, and Yoruichi were sitting down at the Urahara shop having tea. _

_"Have you all been accommodated to your temporary quarters yet?" Yoruichi asked the Captains and lieutenants._

_"Orihime said it would be fine for Shiro-chan and I to stay with her," smiled Rangiku._

_"It's Captain Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, how many times to do I have to repeat myself?!" Said Hitsugaya annoyed._

_"Yes, I really enjoyed their company the last time!" Beamed Orihime._

_"I'll probably be staying here at the Urahara shop like I always do," said Renji._

_"Yay! Mr. Freeloader will be staying with us again," smiled Ururu walking inside the common room with a tray of rice balls._

_"It's Renji, Renji Abarai," said Renji hopelessly; he knew no matter how many times he repeated himself they would keep on calling him that._

_"What about you Soi?" Asked Yoruichi._

_"I don't know, maybe in an empty warehouse somewhere…" she said carelessly._

_"What? But you can't? I'm sure you can stay at somebody's house," said Yoruichi looking around at the group; she seemed enlightened when she spotted a certain someone in the group. "Wait, Soi, in which school are you going undercover again?"_

_"Captain Yamamoto thought it be best if I investigated certain activity in one of the private schools in town rather than going to the public one with the others, but I do not see how that is relevant," said Soi Fong drinking her tea._

_"Well isn't that the same school Ishida is attending?" Asked Yoruichi brightly._

_"Wait a minute…what? She? Huh?" Said Ishida panicking a bit noticing where this conversation was headed._

_"That would be a great idea! Ishida-kun has a huge house and it looks very cool too, it almost looks like one of those houses of the future where robots clean and cook everything and shoot laser beams from their eyes!" Said Orihime drawing out a futuristic picture of evil robots and high tech houses._

_"I don't think that would be a very good idea, my father doesn't approve of Shinigamis; I don't think he would like the idea of one staying there," said Ishida sheepishly._

_"Isn't your father gone most of the time?" Said Ichigo sitting next to him._

"_Ichigo you're supposed to be on my side," whispered Ishida to him; it was true, his father was almost always in the hospital; sometimes he went weeks without seeing him. His father owned an apartment that was very close to the hospital; he usually stayed there just in case he got an urgent call._

_"I'm sure he wouldn't mind," said Yoruichi._

_"But what would I tell him? I couldn't tell him she's a shinigami, and even if I didn't he would be able to sense her strong spirit pressure," said Ishida._

_"Soi is no amateur; she can very well hide her reiatsu; you could just tell your father that she's your girlfriend or something of the sort."_

_"What?! Are you crazy Yoruichi?! You why don't you say something about this?!" Said Ishida turning to look at Soi Fong._

_"Oh I wouldn't mind, if this house of yours is really as great as this girl says then I would certainly like to stay there, I would even fix you breakfast as a token of my appreciation," said Soi Fong calmly._

_"You know if you ask me I don't think it's the fact that she's a shinigami that bothers him. He's probably nervous about having such a hot and cool girl living under the same roof. I mean could you imagine waking up to see Soi Fong flipping pancakes in the kitchen while wearing skimpy little…" whispered Renji to Ichigo but everyone heard them._

_"That's not it at all you perverts!" Screamed Ishida furiously, though it was obvious that he was blushing madly; everyone laughed except Orihime._

* * *

Rukia walked downstairs to the kitchen; everyone looked thrilled to see her; she wondered if they noticed the…change in her. Yuzu ran to her and hugged her.

"Oh Rukia-san we've missed you so much," said Yuzu.

"I've missed you all very much too," she smiled as Yuzu let go of her; next to hug her was Isshin; he practically tackled her to the floor, but suddenly grew mindful and embraced her more gently, did he know?

"Daughter! When Ichigo told us you arrived last night I couldn't believe my ears! I prayed to Masaki everyday that one day our new daughter would return, thank you Masaki for answering my prayers!" Said Isshin crying in front of his wife's poster.

"Stop being stupid dad!" Said Karin annoyed kicking him; then she turned to look at Rukia. There was something different about her, that spiritual energy; she knew something was very different with Rukia's reiatsu.

"Good to see ya Rukia, you look…uh…different," said Karin honestly.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I think so too, though I can't get my finger on what it is," said Yuzu.

"Well I…" said Rukia, should she tell them? They would find out anyway, right? She was a little bit over three months into her pregnancy, another month or two and it would be obvious, but should she tell them now? Would it be better if they found out later?

She looked at Ichigo for support; he didn't need to speak, she knew the question he was asking her with his eyes '_would you like me to tell them for you?_'; she nodded. She became very nervous; Ichigo held her hand reassuringly as he began to speak.

"Dad, Karin, Yuzu, there's something you need to know about Rukia, she uh…" he turned to look at her to make sure she was still okay with it; she nodded and lowered her gaze to the floor nervously, "Rukia…there is something different about Rukia, it's a change that will become noticeable in the next month or two, Rukia, Rukia is pregnant," he said finally hesitating no longer.

Their first reactions didn't seem too great, Isshin's food dropped from his mouth, Karin did that thing she did when she was shocked and froze, and Yuzu placed a hand on her mouth. Yuzu was the first one to break the silence, she smiled and hugged Rukia.

"Congratulations Rukia-san," she said merrily.

"Ichigo, you really are a pervert," said Karin still in shock.

"What, oh no, it wasn't me I swear," said Ichigo a bit nervously, '_I wish it was me' _he thought.

"Well this is great Rukia, I'm gonna be a grandpa!" said Isshin brightly as he picked her up and twirled her.

"I told you dad it wasn't me!" Said Ichigo furiously.

"I heard you the first time son," said Isshin this time a bit more seriously as he let go of Rukia, "but Rukia is still my daughter. Now sweetie, tell me who did this to you and he will pay dearly for raping my adopted daughter!"

"Umm…Kurosaki-sama, I wasn't raped," said Rukia embarrassed.

"Oh," said Isshin, "well in that case, Ichigo will perform the fatherly duties, and I will be the grandpa!" Said Isshin bursting into giggles.

"I'm gonna be an auntie!" Beamed Yuzu; Ichigo sighed.

The doorbell rang and Yuzu answered it. Suddenly Orihime burst in through the door and stood in front of Rukia with a small crib; how she was able to carry that Ichigo had no idea.

"Kuchiki-san, I brought this for you, and I was hoping you would accept my offer to go shopping for baby clothes," said Orihime happily; Rukia stood there dumbfounded.

"She would love to," smiled Isshin, Ichigo put the crib inside your room, it will not fit inside your sisters' room."

"Fine," sighed Ichigo; he grabbed the crib and walked upstairs.

"Come on let's go Kuchiki-san," said Orihime grabbing her by the hand and dashing out of there in inhuman speed.

Ichigo fixed the crib and sat down on his bed. Would the baby even be using this crib once he was born, he would be a member of the Kuchiki clan, and as such they would probably shower him with gifts. His thoughts were interrupted when Kon, Ririn, Cloud, and Nova burst into the room; Kon looked very out of breath, they all did, they apparently rushed in here.

"Ichigo! Is it true what they say about nee-san?!" Asked Kon miserably pulling at his pants.

"Weren't you supposed to be at Urahara's working to get a gigai?"

"That won't be for another year, it's so expensive!" whined Kon, "so is it true that nee-san is…pregnant?"

"Yeah, it is," said Ichigo scratching the back of his head and yawning.

"Who is the father? Tell me!"

"I don't know, she wouldn't tell me, she wouldn't tell any of us, although I think the captains know."

"Well, we need to find out, nee-san's honor depends on it! A father needs to be named!"

"Oh yeah? Well how do you plan on finding out?"

"Ririn has come up with a marvelous idea," said Cloud brightly.

"Here's the plan," said Ririn taking out a poster board.

"FOWD," said Ririn simply.

"FOWD?" Questioned Ichigo.

"Find Out Who's the Daddy," said Ririn explaining the acronym.

"What?"

"It will be a club of detectives that will try to decipher the evidence to see who he is; so far the five of us are the members; you can chose who else will join," said Ririn.

"This is stupid," said Ichigo.

"Do you want to find out who the man that got Rukia-chan pregnant is or not?" Asked Ririn.

"Yes."

"Well then, we have a list to make, a list of potential club members," said Ririn taking out a pen and notepad.

* * *

"Is this better?" Asked Soi Fong walking out of the dressing room. She and Ishida were at the mall shopping for Soi Fong's clothes.

"Yes, much better," sighed Ishida relieved. She wore a beige knee length skirt with a brown cashmere sweater.

"Well let's buy it and get some dinner," said Ishida, his stomach was beginning to growl. As soon as they finished paying for it they walked to an Italian restaurant in the mall.

"Kuchiki-san look, it's so pretty! Onesies for the baby!" said Orihime holding up a dozen footed pajamas.

"All right, just put it in the bag so we could leave," sighed Rukia, she was exhausted. Orihime had spent hers and Rukia's money buying baby items and pregnancy clothes; she even went so far as to buy Rukia footed rabbit pajamas, she would look like a rabbit mascot; it came complete with ears and a tail, it was however opened from the face so that she would not suffocate.

"All done!" Said Orihime brightly; they walked out of the department store; the both of them could barely carry all the bags.

"Next time we will bring Ishida-kun and Kurosaki-kun to help us carry the bags," complained Orihime; she was carrying the most things.

"Speaking of Ishida," said Rukia; she pointed at an Italian restaurant; he and Soi Fong were visible because they were sitting by the window.

"Let's go join them," smiled Orihime.

* * *

Ishida was eating some of his spaghetti when dozens of bags dropped next to the table; Orihime sat next to him while Rukia sat next to Soi Fong.

"Kuchiki-san, how is the child doing?" Asked Soi Fong more out of duty than because she cared.

"He is doing quite well Captain Soi Fong," smiled Rukia placing a hand on her hardly visible bump. Ishida gazed at her as she did this, Rukia…a mother, seeing her acting like this made everything sink in, Rukia would become a mother, no longer the strong girl they all knew, but a woman who held a life…a being within her.

"Ishida-kun, what is the tastiest in this restaurant? I have never come here before," smiled Orihime.

"I have always preferred the spaghetti," said Ishida looking warmly into her eyes; he held her gaze for a long time, looking deeply into her eyes; this did not go by unnoticed by Rukia and Soi Fong; they both looked very uncomfortable, especially Rukia; she grunted.

"Forgive me, I'm very tired," said Ishida blushing madly.

* * *

Ichigo, Kon, Ririn, Cloud, and Nova were still in Ichigo's room; they had already finished organizing their schedule for the FOWD club.

"All right then, the first FOWD meeting will be tomorrow during lunch at your school, Ichigo find a safe place for us all to meet," said Kon.

"So, so far it's you, me, Ririn, Cloud, Nova, Orihime, Chad, Renji, and Tatsuki, why isn't your friend Uryuu in this list Ichigo?" Asked Ririn.

"Because, he is one of the suspects," said Ichigo.

"What?! Uryuu?!" Said Kon surprised.

"Yes, Uryuu, Uryuu Ishida, the _honorable _Quincy…"


	10. Chapter 10

Hello! Well here goes another one! The next Chapter will be full info so don't miss it!

Plz let me know what you think D

* * *

"Pick me pick me I know!" said Orihime waving her hand into the air. Ririn was standing on a stool writing on the board with a marker and everyone else was sitting on a desk.

"All right Orihime, who do you think could be a suspect?" Asked Ririn a bit annoyed.

"Ukitake-sama! Ukitake-sama is definitely the father!" Said Orihime cheerfully.

"Any others?" Asked Ririn after writing his name on the board; everyone was surprised to find Chad lifting his hand in the air.

"Well, Hitsugaya has been acting a bit strange," said Chad just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You're so right Sado! Shiro-kun brought Kuchiki-san flowers the day of her appointment," said Orihime with a goofy grin on her face.

"Any other names?" Asked Ririn.

"Well…how about Byakuya-sama?" Asked Orihime a bit lamely; everyone in the room looked a bit shocked with her suggestion.

"Kuchiki-taicho would never, he's not the type to do something like that, besides, I was there during the said time Rukia's child would have been conceived; he never acted strangely or did anything unlike himself," said Renji immediately.

"And how do you know that? You can't be sure you know," said Ichigo a bit irritated.

"I know Kuchiki-taicho very well; he isn't interested in that…"

"What so he's homosexual?" Asked Tatsuki.

"No not at all! That's not what I meant! What I meant to say is, ever since his wife's death Kuchiki-taicho hasn't been how do I put this…?…in the market, he's simply not romantically driven, he's entirely occupied by his work and makes time for nothing else. I mean sure, my captain is pursued by women very much and is considered one of the most eligible bachelors, but my captain is simply too mature for that, he's responsible, powerful, educated, and would simply never do something like that to Rukia, although it might not seem like it, he cares very much about her and ever since her near execution he has treated her with the utmost respect and care," said Renji crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well if anyone has a crush on Byakuya it's obviously him," whispered Kon to Ichigo, although everyone could hear him.

"Yes, he's obviously in love with him; maybe Tatsuki is right about…I wonder who's the woman in the relationship," responded Ichigo in a loud whisper, but Renji cut him off.

"It's not like that!" He screamed as his face got as red as his hair.

"I don't know anything about him but we should write him down anyway, you just never know; for all we know he could be the one," said Tatsuki; Ririn nodded and put his name on the list.

"Anyone else?" Asked Ririn; the room ws quiet for a moment but then Ichigo spoke.

"Uryuu Ishida," he said; the room went silent.

"Uryuu-kun?" Said Orihime quietly; she looked at the floor sadly.

"Yes, Ishida, it seem our friend spent the summer at Soul Society without telling us about it, that and a couple of hints from Kyoraku when we trained with his Squad."

"But Uryuu-kun…" said Orihime silently trying to hold back her tears, "he couldn't have…"

"There was also something fishy about the way he pursued Rukia before she was taken to soul society; he's definitely one pf the prime suspects," said Ichigo.

"All right," said Ririn; she wrote his name down on the list. So then, since there's four candidates we will be splitting in four groups of two, and each group will investigate; we will meet at the end of the week in this same classroom to discuss the evidence found. Since I am the person in charge I will not be participating in the groups," said Ririn.

"Who put you in charge?!" protested Ichigo.

"I did idiot because I'm the one that got the idea on the first place," said Ririn throwing an eraser at his head, "okay, put your names in this hat and I will draw the groups. Group one will be the Ukitake group, group two will be the Hitsugaya group, group three the Byakuya group, and group four the Ishida group."

They all placed papers with their names in a hat, and Ririn drew the first two papers_. **Ukitake Group**: Nova and Chad_. She drew another two papers. _**Hitsugaya Group**__: Cloud and Kon…__**Byakuya Group**__: Renji and Tatsuki…__**Ishida Group**__: Ichigo and Orihime…_

"All right then, you have your assignments; you are all dismissed," said Ririn; they all left the classroom in their assigned pairs.

* * *

Ichigo and Orihime left to the school roof top, the meeting had taken a good twenty minutes from their forty minute lunch break; they had left the others while they weren't looking and dashed out of there so they wouldn't be spotted. Ichigo took out his lunch box and so did Orihime; she noticed that Ichigo looked very upset, perhaps about the whole situation with Rukia.

"Kurosaki-kun, are you all right? You can have some of my curry strawberry ice cream with red bean paste if you'd like," she said smiling.

"Umm…no thanks," said Ichigo declining her offer kindly, though he felt like vomiting.

"So what's wrong?"

"I don't know, this situation just seems so unlikely; I never would have imagined I would take part in something like FOWD, even more that it'd be because of Rukia…Orihime…"

"Yes?"

"I know you don't think Uryuu is the one, and you don't want to blame this on him, but promise me that it won't stop you from doing your best," said Ichigo; Orihime didn't know what to say, she had never seen Ichigo this…vulnerable before. She felt like taking him in her arms and comforting him until it was all better, but instead she settled for taking hold of his hand.

"All right Kurosaki-kun, I'll try my best!" She smiled.

"Thank you, and, Orihime, if there is anything you know, tell me," he said; Orihime once again found herself delving into matters she did not want to, things she had noticed strange about Ishida's behavior but had quickly cast aside in fear of being hurt.

"Well…he did look very worried when he found out about Kuchiki-san; he even went to visit Kuchiki-san to her appointment; he was close to her the entire time. And the same day we found out about the baby well…he said some strange things…" she said remembering his words…

…

"_Ishida! What's wrong?" Asked Orihime as she ran over to Ishida. They were staying the night at the Squad 10 barracks. Ishida was sitting outside while the others were inside Rangiku's place having tea._

"_Nothing in particular, I'm just worried."_

"_Why?"_

"_There's something odd going on, think about it, if this truly happens every time a noble reproduces then why are all the captains so worried?" Said Ishida._

"_Yes I see what you mean, Hitsugaya-kun looked very worried," said Orihime. _

"_Unless…the child is not normal…unless the child…is a hybrid of some kind," said Ishida suddenly shocked._

"_Hybrid? You're silly Ishida, I don't think Kuchiki-san would…become involved… with someone other than a Shinigami."_

"_Well, you never know," laughed Ishida nervously._

…

"A hybrid? He said that?" Said Ichigo surprised.

"Yes," said Orihime a bit sadly.

"But…for the child to be a hybrid, it would mean that the father is another being with spirit abilities of some sort, and abilities that are not like the Shinigami…"

"You mean like a Hollow, Bound or a…"

"Quincy," said Ichigo finishing his sentence for her.

* * *

"Rukia-chan you got so much prettier!" Exclaimed the lesbian Chizuru as she held Rukia tightly and tried to kiss her; Rukia pulled her away.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," said Rukia once she finally managed to get Chizuru off of her.

"Yes, I can't exactly put my finger on it, but you look different," said one of the girls.

"Well, I have been exercising more," said Rukia thinking of anything that would satisfy their curiosity and make them move on to a subject that didn't carry the possibility of them finding out just exactly what was different about her.

"No, that's not it, I know it now!" Said Chizuru brightly; she approached Rukia with a magnifying glass. "It's your, skin, your, lips, and your eyes….and also your body," said Chizuru checking her out through the magnifying glass.

"Really? Oh yeah I see it now," said another one of the girls.

"Yeah, her eyes are sparkly, her skin is radiant, and her lips look fuller, almost like a pout, that and your tits got bigger!" Said Chizuru tackling her to the floor and playing with her firm mounds. Rukia immediately kicker her off and then stepped on her head.

"Never touch me like that again you pervert!" She said furiously; then she looked at the scared girls around her and switched back to her fake sweet girl façade, "I mean…I'm sorry, but my parents have always told me that it is wrong for two girls to fall in love. You see, back in catholic middle school I was in love with my best girl friend, the nuns found out and told our parents; they separated us and I haven't seen her ever since; I don't want to have to go through that ever again," said Rukia dramatically.

"Oh that's so cute, forbidden love!" Cooed all the girls in unison.

"If I had known your sweet and totally cute love story I never would have tried to seduce you Rukia-chan; I wouldn't want you to fall in love with me only to get in trouble with your parents, will you please forgive me?" Asked Chizuru in tears.

"Of course," smiled Rukia kindly.

"Aww! Rukia-chan is so sweet," said all the girls in unison; Rukia seemed very satisfied with her performance until she felt nauseated and sick to her stomach; she immediately turned yellow and almost fainted.

"Rukia-chan are you okay?" Asked one of the girls; Rukia didn't get to answer before she ran behind one of the trees and threw up.

"Rukia-chan, are you okay?" Asked Chizuru.

"Yeah just some-" throws up, "morning-" throws up, "sickness," throws up massively.

"But it's midday," said Chizuru confused.

* * *

Ishida was standing in the school court yard waiting for Soi Fong to arrive; he had left earlier than her that day and was wanted to apologize for forgetting to wait for her. He hadn't seen her all day and wanted to know how her day went; hopefully she didn't do anything to expose her identity. He was staring at his watch when the red head Christine and the blonde Yukina arrived and both ran their hands on his chest suggestively.

"So Uryuu, wanna play Marco polo at Yukina's house today?" asked Christine running a finger on his lips.

"Ah well…I can't anymore, you see I…have a girlfriend now," said Ishida nervously; he knew it was a lie, but it was the same lie he would be telling his father when he got back, so why not just use that lie to his advantage, besides, it would be more convincing if people in his school thought he was dating her too, besides, Soi Fong wouldn't mind, right?

"Really? Is it that Orihime girl that went to your house the other day?" Asked Christine interested, "if so let's make it a manage-a-quatre then?"

"It's not her."

"Well then, who is it?" Asked Yukina.

"Her," said Ishida pointing at Soi Fong who was walking towards them with her books in her arms; Yukina's and Christine's eyes widened.

"Hubba hubba," said Yukina licking her lips.

"Yeah Uryuu, she might even be hotter than that Orihime girl," said Christine running her eyes wildly along Soi Fong's body.

"Can we have her too/" Asked Yukina.

"No," said Ishida defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hello," said Soi Fong looking at Ishida indifferently.

"Oh darling, these are my umm…friends, Christine and Yukina," said Ishida eyeing Soi Fong; she nodded informing him that she understood.

"Oh hi, I'm Uryuu's girlfriend, Soi," she said wrapping an arm around Uryuu's waist.

"Hmm…Soi, what a delectable name, makes me wanna eat you up" said Yukina looking her up and down and biting her lower lip seductively.

"We were just talking about you actually; we were trying to convince Uryuu to share you, Yukina and I are swingers and we were interested in swinging with you…but Uryuu is selfish, it's seems he wants you all to himself."

"Oh no, Uryuu is very giving actually, that's one of the things I love about him," said Soi Fong running a hand on his chest; both of the girls looked very excited about her answer; Ishida gave her a '_what the hell are you thinking_' look and she smiled at him.

"But I'm afraid it is I who am the selfish one, you see, I'm the one that wants his delectable body all to myself," said Soi Fong running her tongue on the edges of his ear; Ishida's eyes widened in surprise, she bit his earlobe and then placed small love bites along his jaw line; by the time she pulled back Ishida was practically hyperventilating; then she turned to look at the two speechless girls and grinned, "so stay away from him from now on, he's mine now, and if I find out that you are bothering him again, I will personally make sure that your hands stay off of him, permanently."

Ishida looked at her surprised as they walked back to his house; she looked very calm almost like nothing had happened. He stopped walking and she stopped as well; she turned to look at him annoyed.

"What happened back there?"

"If I have to be your pretend girlfriend then I will be a respected pretend girlfriend, I do not want you committing acts of infidelity as long as I am living under the same roof of your companion."

"Oh, all right, you have my word, I won't cheat on you," smiled Ishida as they started walking again.

"Don't smile like an idiot you fool, this means nothing; you can however be with the ryoka girl," said Soi Fong walking ahead.

"What?" Said Ishida; then he noticed Orihime waiting for him outside of his house; a smile immediately graced his face.

"Orihime, what brings you here?" Asked Ishida smiling.

"Can we walk and talk?"

"Sure," said Ishida; he noticed she looked very troubled.

* * *

"Argh! How are we supposed to do this when I don't even know the guy, I mean, seriously, I should have investigated Hitsugaya instead!" Complained Tatsuki, she and Renji were at a café discussing their assignment.

"Yes, and I know for a fact it couldn't have been Kuchiki-taicho," said Renji.

"Well, how the hell are we going to investigate him when he's not even here," said Tatsuki; then all of a sudden Renji looked enlightened.

"I know what we need to do, it probably won't work, but it's better than sitting around here doing nothing, it will take some time though…to convince Urahara."

* * *

The sun was beginning to set, and Orihime and Ishida were sitting by the pier. They were both silent; Ishida wanted to ask her what was wrong with her, but decided that it would be better to allow her to speak whenever she felt ready.

"Uryuu-kun…" said Orihime, but she could say nothing more; instead she held his hand.

"What's wrong Orihime?"

"I…you would never do something that would hurt a lot of people would you…you would never hurt Kurosaki-kun, right?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Just, please just answer my question, would you ever do something to hurt Kurosaki-kun…or myself?"

"No, of course not, I would never," said Ishida looking sincerely in her eyes, "but would you tell me what this is about?" Orihime stood up straight, grunted once and turned to look very business-like.

"Uryuu Ishida, I have to tell you something, but I will expect you to be very mature about the matter, and I will forever think you're mean if you make fun of me," she said; then she grunted once, "Mr. Uryuu Ishida, I _think_, and I will emphasize '_think'_, I am falling in love with you. And now that you know this I will expect you to be very responsible with my heart and not break it, because if you do I will make Kurosaki-kun kick you in the behind," she said; Ishida looked shocked, not only because of her confession, but the way she confessed it.

"Really? You do?"

"Yes," said Orihime timidly, her professional façade quickly melting away, "but it's okay if you don't feel the same, I understand…after what I did to you when you told me that you…" before she said anything else she found that she could no longer speak. His lips had crushed against hers and were moving eagerly, she closed her eyes and surrendered to his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. He gave her lower lip a soft bite and then pulled back, but kept one arm at her waist.

"Orihime, of course I still love you, this feeling never went away," said Ishida looking into her eyes; the intensity behind his bottomless deep blue orbs made her want to cry.

"You…you promise not to hurt me?" She asked sobbing as tears went down her eyes.

"I promise," he said; he planted another kiss on her lips; this time deeper; she gasped when she felt his tongue enter her mouth, but then gave in and reveled in the sensation of his warmth.

* * *

After watching the sunset with Orihime, Ishida walked her back to her house and then started walking to his own home. He looked up at the stars and sighed, a smile gracing his face as the reflection of the stars played along his eyes.

"My girlfriend, my girlfriend Orihime," he sighed content.

He reached his house and opened the door and heard a girl's scream down the hall. He immediately ran there to see what was happening, and was shocked with what he saw. Soi Fong was standing on the doorway of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, and his father stood in front of her looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"S…Soi?" Soi Fong ran and hid behind Ishida playing the part of the damsel in distress; he found her acting similar to Rukia's.

"Who is this man Uryuu-kun? He just saw me naked!" Said Soi Fong '_frightened' _clinging to Ishida's shirt.

"Oh, umm…father…"

"What is the meaning of this Uryuu? What is this girl doing in the house?!"

"Oh umm…meet, my girlfriend, Soi," said Ishida.

"Oh Uryuu, he's your father? How nice to meet you," said Soi Fong brightly as she ran to Ryuken Ishida and embraced him still wet from her shower; Ryuken looked very uncomfortable

"Okay, well, we should probably get you back to your room," said Ishida pulling her away from him. And pushing her into her room; he returned to the hallway where his father was tapping his foot on the floor impatiently.

"Explain yourself Uryuu."

"Well, you see," he didn't know what to say to him, what would he say to him now? "Well...uh…she had an argument with her parents, and they well…they kicked her out of the house, I hope you don't mind."

"I could care less about who you bed as long as you do not disgrace the family name, get the girl on birth-control and be cautious. I only came back to pick up some files, do not be expecting me home anytime soon," said Ryuken and immediately walked out of there.

"That was close," sighed Ishida leaning back on the wall.

"It is all right to come out now?" Said Soi Fong walking out of the room; he nodded.

"Did you have to go and hug him like that? That was completely inappropriate he's gonna think you're a…"

"Whore? I could care less what he thinks of me. Now hurry up and make dinner, I'm starving," said Soi Fong walking into the living room, she was wearing a navy blue silk night gown that was considerably revealing; Ishida sighed thinking, '_why me, why do I always have to get stuck with the crazy women?_'

* * *

Ichigo got to his house at nine that night, he spent most of the afternoon hanging out and studying for tomorrow's test with Keigo and Mizuiro and had just now finished. He walked upstairs to his room and found a weeping Rukia sitting on the floor eating pickles, king-sized chocolate bars, curry rice, pancakes, and sushi rolls, all which were being dipped in melted ice cream.

"What's wrong?" He asked sitting next to her on the ground.

"I hate myself, I'm worthless, I'm ugly, fat, stupid, and I'm the worst Shinigami in the history of soul society!" She said bursting into tears. '_Oh no, she's getting hormonal_,' he thought.

"No you're not, you're a great Shinigami, that's why you're a lieutenant now, you're very intelligent, and you look better than well…a lot of girls," admitted Ichigo with a blush on his face, '_oh crap I'm getting soft_,' he thought to himself.

"Yes, but I'm still fat!" She said crying even louder.

"You're not fat Rukia stop being stupid you just want attention!" he screamed at her.

"Shut up you baka before I step on your head!"

"I'll kick your ass before you do that you midget bitch!" he screamed; in an instant they were back to their old bickering selves; then suddenly Rukia looked depressed, but not her hormonal shallow depression, but honestly saddened.

"But honestly, do you think I'm fat?" She asked looking at the ground; his angered face softened.

"Of course not, besides, the little bump that will eventually appear here, will represent something very special," said Ichigo placing his hand on her stomach; his eyes widened when he felt him kick, "can he do that yet?"

"Well, he's no ordinary child, here," said Rukia moving his hand a bit lower so that he felt the kicks more clearly.

"Wow," he said genuinely amazed; he looked at Rukia and saw a light in her eyes that he had never seen before.

"I think he's starting to like you now," she said smiling; he looked back down at her womb and caressed it, running his fingertips along it; the little bump was starting to show, but only a little bit, to the extent that you had to really stare to notice it. Then he did something she didn't expect him to do, and lowered his face to her womb and kissed it; she watched him curiously.

"You're going to have great mother, you know that kid, so you better be damned grateful you hear?!" she smiled warmly at him and he looked up at her. Then as if by instinct he pulled her towards him and enveloped her in a warm embrace, her eyes widened, but then she sank into his warmth and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"No matter what happens Rukia, you will always be the same person to me. In my eyes, you will never change, I can promise you that much," he said as he took in the scent of her hair and rest his head on hers, embracing her tightly.

Finally after so many dramatic months of doubt and loneliness, she felt safe, at home. This was what she had missed so much during her strange summer, comfort, the comfort of knowing herself safe and cared for, in the arms of the one she loved.

* * *

**_Next Time On "The Small Print"_**

Chad and Nova disappear...

Tatsuki tries to seduce Byakuya...??

Orihime sleeps with Ichigo??

Rukia meets with her child's father...

and the FATHER IS REVEALED??

**TUNE IN**... D


	11. Chapter 11

All right, well I hope not to disappoint, this is THE chapter!

Please let me know what you think!

Sorry if there's any errors, I've been rushing around trying to finish my own projects for an Agency.

* * *

_December 27th…_

"All right people, so I have an idea, how about we try to solve this riddle before the baby is born?" Said Ririn thoroughly annoyed; today she and Cloud were wearing their gigais. It was five in the morning and they were having a FOWD meeting in the empty classroom of Karakura High where they always met.

"Well you know it's not exactly easy when you don't even know the freaking person you are investigating!" Said Tatsuki

"I am very disappointed in all of you, it has been over a month and we have barely moved ahead in this investigation at all! Rukia is over four months pregnant; it's starting to show! By the time winter break is over your class mates will be very aware of her situation," Said Ririn.

"We'll find out who he is, I promise," said Ichigo very seriously.

"I know you will Ichigo, you've been trying very hard unlike all these other idiots, you and Orihime are the ones that have brought the most evidence; at least now we know that Rukia's baby isn't normal, so I guess at least now we can do a process of elimination," said Ririn writing on the board. With whom is Rukia most likely to have a powerful child?" Asked Ririn.

"We should cross out Shiro-chan," said Orihime.

"No, we shouldn't, think about it this way, he is very young, and yet he is already captain, the youngest captain in the history of Soul Society, a prodigy; someone like that is bound to produce powerful offspring," said Renji.

"But isn't he too young to have babies?" Asked Orihime.

"Oh no, he's old enough, trust me," said Tatsuki with confidence.

"Yes, you're right Renji," said Ririn.

"Well Byakuya isn't all that powerful, let's eliminate him," said Ichigo.

"Of course he is powerful!" Said Renji defensively.

"You know Abarai, you're not helping your case," said Tatsuki.

"What case?"

"The case concerning your sexual orientation," she said; Renji crossed his arms angrily as his face seemed to glow the color of his hair.

"Well Byakuya-sama is very powerful, but not the kind of powerful that would make the baby freakishly strong, all in all Byakuya's powers are normal for a captain's," said Orihime.

"You're right, so then that makes Byakuya the last in the list," said Ririn; she crossed Byakuya's name on the board, "what about Ukitake? Speaking of which…where are Sado and Nova? They haven't come for the last two meetings either," said Ririn.

"The last time I talked to them Nova had invented a new strategy to spy on Ukitake, but I never heard from them after that," said Ichigo.

"How strange. So what do the rest of you think about Ukitake?" Asked Ririn.

"It's very possible, Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku are amongst the most powerful Shinigami in the Gotei 13," said Renji.

"Yes, and it's a little strange that Chad and Nova disappeared while investigating him," said Tatsuki.

"So then Ukitake is one of the main suspects," said Ririn, "and I don't even have to ask about Ishida, he's the main suspect at the moment since he's the only one that could produce a hybrid with Rukia," said Ririn; Orihime lowered her gaze, no one knew that she and Ishida were dating, and she felt guilty about spying on him.

"Well so far from one to four here's how the suspects go, one being the most probable. One: Ishida, Two: Ukitake, Three: Hitsugaya, and Four; Byakuya. Well that's all for today, meeting dismissed," said Ririn.

* * *

"All right, coast is clear," whispered Renji to Tatsuki as they walked towards Urahara's shop making sure that no one would see them. They walked carefully through the streets and then into Urahara's shop; they entered the basement just as Urahara had told them to. They found Urahara laying down on a chair pretending to sunbathe.

"Oh, you're here," said Urahara standing up.

"Is the portal ready?" Asked Renji.

"Yep, just as you wanted it, I still don't know why I'm doing this for you," said Urahara.

"Because you're just as curious about who the father of that powerful child is," said Renji.

"That's right, I wonder if Rukia will let me examine the babe once its born to understand its abilities better," said Urahara thoughtfully.

"You really think Rukia is gonna let you experiment on her child? In your dreams," said Tatsuki.

"A man can dream if he wants," said Urahara, and they walked towards the portal.

"Don't forget to run," said Urahara as Renji and Tatsuki went into the portal.

* * *

"You're crazy, I'm not going to do that!" Exclaimed Tatsuki walking out of the closet dressed and painted like a Geisha; she and Renji were inside a boutique in a Geisha house in Soul Society.

"Come on, it's the only way you can spy on him up close."

"But don't you think he will suspect something, it isn't everyday that a Geisha turns up in your house as a gift!" Screamed Tatsuki at Renji as three women tried to hold her down while another attempted to place a wig on her head.

"I know that; why do you think I chose today? Today is the anniversary of Kuchiki-taichou becoming a Captain; you will be a present sent to him by Kyoraku, that pervert always sends other captains Geishas for their anniversaries; one of the guys in his squad told me he wouldn't be sending any this year because of some problems when he sent that freak Mayuri Kurotsuchi one last year, tore her limb by limb for a research experiment," said Renji wincing when he remembered in the state that they found the girl's dismembered body.

"Then won't Byakuya suspect that it wasn't Kyoraku that sent the Geisha?" Asked Tatsuki relieved that the women were done with her.

"My captain doesn't know a thing; only the members of squad eight and I know about it," said Renji.

"Argh fine! But you owe me for this Abarai, you owe me for this big time," said Tatsuki standing up.

"Here, keep the change," said Renji giving the women a large amount of money; the women seemed thrilled and echoed a girly, "thank you Abarai-kun, always so nice…we'll be sure to thank you by sending you one of our girls…" Renji smirked.

"Pervert," mumbled Tatsuki.

* * *

Ichigo, and Rukia were at Orihime's house where Orihime had offered to make Rukia breakfast. Rangiku, Hitsugaya, Cloud, and Kon were also there. The only ones eating at the moment were Orihime and Rukia; Ichigo had no idea how Rukia could stomach Orihime's cooking, then again the strange food probably appealed to her because of her pregnancy.

"Inoue that was a lovely meal," smiled Rukia, "could I please have some more?" She asked; everyone looked at her shocked, except Orihime who seemed overjoyed.

"Yes of course, coming right up," she said brightly standing up and leaving to the kitchen.

"Well, I will be going for a walk now," said Hitsugaya standing up.

"I'll come with you," said Rangiku walking after him; Kon and Cloud followed after them not so discretely.

Rukia grabbed a donut and dipped it in curry; Ichigo looked at her oddly. She looked at him questioningly, and widened her eyes when he gave her a mischievous look and attacked her with tickles.

"Ichigo stop it!" laughed Rukia lying back on the floor as he straddled her and continued to tickle her.

"Nope, not until you stop eating such weird things!"

"Ichigo don't! What if you hurt the baby?" She said still bursting in laughs and giggles; then he stopped and looked down at her womb seriously.

"I would never hurt him, he knows that, and so do you," he said looking sincerely into her eyes; his amber eyes piercing into her soul.

"Ichigo…" was all she could manage to say, and then she gasped when he placed a kiss on her bump; she closed her eyes at the feel of his soft lips through her shirt. He ran his lips around her navel and then placed a kiss on the nub beginning to form inside her navel. His face leveled with hers and began to draw closer to hers. He ran his hand on her cheek and pressed his lips softly to hers. Rukia returned the kiss but then pulled away hesitantly.

"Ichigo…we can't…this isn't right."

"Why not? We both care about each other," said Ichigo a bit embarrassed and blushing madly, he was never the type of guy to be expressive with his feelings

"Stop it Ichigo, you don't know what you're talking about," said Rukia nervously turning her head to the side so he wouldn't see the doubt in her eyes, she herself didn't believe what she was saying. He held her chin and turned her to look at him.

"You're wrong; I do know what I'm talking about," said Ichigo, her doubts made him bolder; he found himself going out of his comfort zone to prove to her that this was true; he kissed the corner of her lips. Rukia gave in and was about to kiss him when Orihime walked in there and gasped.

"I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san I didn't mean to look," said Orihime embarrassed running out of the there; Ichigo immediately got off of Rukia.

"We'll talk about this later," said Rukia blushing as she stood up and walked to the kitchen to find Orihime.

Orihime was leaning on the kitchen sink looking very shocked, she had always known of Ichigo's feelings for Rukia, but he never imagined that seeing them together would hurt this much. But why did she feel like this? She was with Uryu after all, she loved Uryu…right? Why did it hurt so much seeing Ichigo looking at Rukia that way…touching her that way. Orihime shook her head and turned on the water faucet; she took water with palmed hands and wet her face.

"Orihime?" Said Rukia walking over to Orihime, she was very gentle because she knew very well how Orihime felt about Ichigo.

"I'm sorry Kuchiki-san, I shouldn't have walked in on you like that," said Orihime forcing a smile.

"No, I'm the one that's sorry, it was just a tickle fight, it's something Ichigo does to make me feel better with the mood swings and all," said Rukia; what she was saying was partly true, but not for their previous actions.

"Oh it's okay, you don't have to explain anything, really," said Orihime quickly; Rukia smiled at her.

"Rukia! Rukia!" Said Tessai as he walked into the kitchen.

"Is something wrong?"

"Urahara wanted let you know that you need to come to the shop today in the afternoon to pick up your new gigai, and Unohaha will be coming to give you your checkup," said Tessai; Rukia sighed.

"I've been changing gigais like I've been changing socks, oh well, I'll be there, I'll probably have to sleep there again. I guess Ichigo will have to tell his sisters to cancel movie night," said Rukia annoyed.

* * *

Renji and Tatsuki were standing in front of the Kuchiki estate; Tatsuki looked at the large luxurious gates and was about to run away but Renji held her back.

"Is there really nothing else we can do?" Whined Tatsuki.

"This is the only way; if you don't manage to get him drunk, which-I-think-will-be-the-case-because-my-captain-is-a-man-of-manners, then you will pour this truth serum in his tea and he will unknowingly answer every question you ask him," said Renji placing the small flask in one of her pockets.

"What if it doesn't work?"

"Oh it will, now go get him!" said Renji slapping her behind; she was about to protest but they reached the guards.

"Present for captain Kuchiki from Captain Kyoraku," said Renji; the guards snickered and looked Tatsuki up and down.

"Nice…last year's was better though," said one of the guards; Tatsuki was about to react but Renji gripped her shoulder painfully hard.

"Well then, we'll be on our way," said Renji dragging a very angered Tatsuki along.

They took the tea and sake and walked to Byakuya's quarters Tatsuki looked very nervous; Renji signaled her to relax and then knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Asked Byakuya from the other side.

"Lieutenant Renji Abarai."

"You may come in." Renji opened the door and immediately bowed; then he walked inside and Tatsuki walked in after him with the tray of tea and sake. Byakuya looked at Renji and then back at Tatsuki indifferently; Tatsuki's reaction was however very different; her jaw practically dropped at the sight of the gorgeous man in front of her. 'So this is Rukia's adoptive brother…' she though.

"A present from Kyoraku-taicho," said Renji.

"All right, you may leave," said Byakuya indifferently as he sat down on the table and kept on looking at the wall; Tatsuki didn't know where to start so she just stayed there. After noticing she didn't do anything he grunted and then finally looked at her, but rather coldly.

"Are you not supposed to serve my needs, woman," he said coldly.

"Wh…what kind of needs..?!" she said beginning to panic.

"Do not worry, using your type for such purpose would insult the Kuchiki name ," he said simply. She grew angry at how much of a snobby jerk he seemed, but didn't do anything about it.

She sat in the front of him and served him sake; she was trying to be as graceful as possible but failed horribly; she spilled some on the table and Byakuya glared at her. He reluctantly took the sake and drank it. She quickly poured him more but he declined it.

"I will have tea now," he said; Renji was right, she would have to use the truth serum after all. She and Renji had mixed the truth serum in the tea earlier, so she didn't have to worry about having to pour it while he was in front of her. She poured the tea, this time very gracefully, and he drank it; a smile instantly graced his face, the questioning would begin.

"You must be a very busy man Kuchiki-sama, being a captain and the head of the Kuchiki household and all, do they allow you to have breaks during the summer?"

"No, a shinigami never has vacations, needing such unproductive time only shows weakness," he said stoically drinking more tea.

"Did you at least enjoy your summer?"

"Shinigami do not feel foolish human emotions such as joy…but yes, I suppose my summer was rather pleasing."

"Why? Did you have good company?"

"Kuchikis only surround themselves by valuable people, though some of them may be somewhat unintelligent, they are all very talented."

"Any valuable women?"

"Why do you ask this?" He asked suspiciously.

"Oh I…I've always been interested in the lives of Shinigami women, I was considering becoming one myself," she lied.

"Well yes, the Shinigami women are all very admirable; they are powerful, intelligent, and graceful," he said.

"And your sister Kuchiki-Rukia? Is she among them?" She asked; Byakuya paused for a moment, and then turned to look at her.

"Yes, Rukia is a very admirable woman, but that is only expected, she is after all a Kuchiki."

"Well, from what I hear, she was adopted, tell me Kuchiki-sama, have you ever looked at her as more than a sister?" she asked immediately; Byakuya looked at her and poured the tea from his cup to the floor.

"I do not intend on continuing this conversation. I had the servants switch the teas. Kyoraku-taicho's present arrived this morning, apologizing for not sending a Geisha today…I only let you get this far along to know what you were after…and who you were with, you can come out Abarai, it's over," said Byakuya; a very embarrassed Renji walked in through the door.

"Kuchiki-taicho you must for-"

"Do not say another word Abarai, I did not expect you to act in such a barbaric manner, if you want to know who the father of Rukia's offspring is then ask her, I will not be involved in such matters," said Byakuya suppressing the outrage in his voice as he stood up indignantly.

"But Kuchiki-taicho…"

"Leave Renji; your job is to protect Rukia, not to be spying on others," he said; a very embarrassed Renji left with Tatsuki close behind him.

"It is time for such nonsense to end, Rukia will have to reveal the truth once in for all," sighed Byakuya as he sat back down by the table.

* * *

Orihime and Ichigo were in Ichigo's room going over more evidence; Ichigo felt like everything seemed to be point out to Ishida. It was eight at night and they had been going over this for more than three hours.

"Well, I think it's time for me to go," said Orihime.

"All right I'll walk you outside," said Ichigo.

They walked down the stairs and Orihime walked out the door; Ichigo was walking back upstairs when Orihime burst in through the door soaking wet.

"I had never seen such horrible rain Kurosaki-kun, do you have an umbrella I could borrow?"

"Ugh…maybe I should have my dad take you in his car, I don't think an umbrella could help much against that," said Ichigo looking outside, it was raining sideways because of the strong winds.

"Dad!" Said Ichigo looking around the house, but no trace of his family could be found. Then he found a note, gone out for dinner, be back at ten.

"Oh well, you could stay here if you'd like, I'll let you change into some of my clothes," said Ichigo as they went back in his room, he took a t-shirt and some sweat pants and gave them to Orihime.

"I'll be in the kitchen watching TV and making something to eat, you can sleep while my dad gets here if you want," said Ichigo.

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun!" Said Orihime.

"You're welcome," smiled Ichigo, and he left the room.

* * *

Rukia was walking back to Ichigo's house, Unohana and was done checking up on her and she had succeeded in getting a new gigai. She almost didn't leave Urahara's shop because of the rain, but luckily it stopped moments ago.

Once she reached Ichigo's house she saw that the living room was empty; she was glad the family wasn't home, she and Ichigo had a lot to talk about right, not only about their progressing relationship, but she decided it was about she told Ichigo who the father of her baby was. She walked upstairs and into Ichigo's room; she saw a figure on the bed covered by blankets and smiled. The lights were off but she could see a bit of ginger colored hair poking through the blankets. She walked carefully towards the blanket so that he wouldn't hear her.

She closed her eyes and opened the blankets; she leaned down for a kiss, but opened her eyes before she did, and was shocked. It was Orihime, it was Orihime in Ichigo's bed, she was wearing his clothes, and her hair was wet. Her eyes immediately welled up in tears and she ran out of there.

A couple of minutes later Ichigo walked into the room to get his textbook; he felt Rukia's reiatsu in the air, but she wasn't here. He looked over at Orihime, and then suddenly it struck him; he ran out of the house in search of Rukia.

* * *

Ishida was sitting by the dining table; Soi Fong was sitting in front of him. He was surprised to see her there, for the past three weeks she hadn't seen her; she had not come to the house and she had also been missing from school. He wanted to question her but she had a frustrated look on her face.

"Where have you been?" He asked suddenly.

"That does not concern you," said Soi Fong coldly, but then her expression changed from coldness to curiosity, "why do you ask?"

"Well, I guess I was a little bit worried," he admitted; she blushed for a second but then returned to her cold self.

"I thought I had a lead on the undercover Hollows at the private school, but they just turned out to be two imbeciles with a strange infatuation with cemeteries," said Soi Fong.

"Soi, when are we going to inform the others about what is going on in Karakura Town?"

"It's Soi Fong to you, I have never allowed you to address me in such a familiar manner…and as for you question… I have a feeling that the truth will be revealed very soon," said Soi Fong; suddenly Renji walked in through the door.

"What's your problem you baka don't you know you need to knock?!" Said Ishida furiously standing up.

"Go easy on me will yah, I just humiliated myself in front of Kuchiki-taicho," said Renji sitting down by the table.

"How did that happen?"

"Long story," said Renji knowing he couldn't tell Ishida.

* * *

Rukia was running through the streets of Karakura town; it started raining again but she didn't care. She kept on running until she slipped on a puddle and fell. Once on the floor she didn't stand up, she remained there crying and looking disgusted at her own reflection on the water.

"How could you have expected him to love you, you baka, he's strong, pure, and look at yourself, you're nothing, you're not even pure anymore, he deserves better, he deserves someone that will wait for him, someone that wasn't tainted by another's hands!" she said to herself slamming her fist on the puddle. Suddenly she felt it, that undeniable presence it was a….

* * *

"Hollow," said Ishida suddenly standing up, "and Rukia's there!" Renji looked at him horrified and the two left after her, Soi Fong was going to go but they urged her to stay.

* * *

Orihime woke up with the sudden presence of a Hollow, a very strong Hollow, and Rukia was there…she stood up immediately and ran out of Ichigo's room.

* * *

Not so far away from where Rukia was Ichigo felt the Hollow's presence; he was horrified to see that it wasn't just any Hollow, it was an Arrancar…

* * *

Rukia was horrified to find the Arrancar in front of her; she immediately stood up and swallowed the Chappy pill thereby exiting her gigai. She released her Shikai and ran towards the Arrancar, and began to fight him. They fought that way for a while; he received a couple of wounds while she herself was stabbed on the shoulder. She struck him again, and he kicked her sending her crashing against a light pole. Just as she was about to perform the first dance, an excruciating pain overcame her and she clutched her womb falling to the ground. The slim purple-haired Arrancar approached her and picked her up by the throat and surveyed her body. He licked his lips and placed a hand on her womb.

"What delicious reiatsu," he whispered in her ear, and her eyes widened, "I think I'm gonna go ahead and take it now, you wont wind will you?" He said biting her neck gently as he began to undo the sash on her uniform. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt his breath on her neck. However, nothing happened; she felt herself freed; she was about to fall to the floor when a familiar pair of arms caught her, it was him.

"Rukia, enough is enough, it would be best for the others to know," he said; she opened her eyes to look at him but her view was blocked by the raindrops falling on her face. She was content with feeling him; his hair cascading down to her shoulders. She felt her friends' reiatsus approaching, and at the same time felt him stiffen.

"The truth will be revealed tonight Rukia; I will see you then," he said placing a kiss on her forehead and then setting her on the ground; in an instant he was gone, without a trace of reiatsu.

Rukia wiped her eyes and opened them to see Ichigo approaching her with the others behind. Ichigo immediately cradled her in his arms and embraced her.

"Rukia I'm sorry, nothing happened I promise, it was the rain…she needed to borrow….I'm so glad to see you Rukia," said Ichigo not knowing where to begin.

"It's all right Ichigo, I believe you," she said smiling at him; suddenly he froze when he felt the presence of another Arrancar, two of them actually. One of them attacked him and sent him crashing away from Rukia; meanwhile the other one got to Rukia and stabbed her on the other shoulder.

"Rukia!" He was about to run to her when a very unexpected person killed the Arrancar that stabbed her and lifted Rukia's chin up with his finger, running his eyes over her body to check her injuries, it was Espada number four, Ulquiorra.

The look in Rukia's eyes appeared crazed; he had never seen such horror in Rukia's eyes, but he could not understand why she appeared so frightened, she had seen him before in the past, and never had she looked at him that way before. Ulquiorra smirked, and to Ichigo's surprise, nibbled on her hear and placed a kiss on her throat before releasing her.

"Stay away from the shinigami, it is time for us to return now," said Ulquiorra to the other Arrancar, and in an instant they both disappeared.

Rukia fainted but was caught by Ichigo before she hit the floor; the others ran over to them and Orihime immediately began to heal her.

"Was that Ulquiorra? But I thought he was dead," said Renji shocked.

"Well, he's not," said Ishida; he didn't seem so surprised. Once Orihime was done, Ichigo picked up Rukia in his arms and looked at the others.

"I'm taking her back, she needs her rest."

"I'll send Cloud, Kon, and Ririn to take care of her; come to the Urahara shop after you drop her off, I think it's about time you all know what's really happening," said Ishida seriously.

* * *

Once Ichigo dropped Rukia off he wasted not time in leaving to the Urahara shop; once he got there, Ishida, Orihime, Renji, Urahara, and Yoruichi were already there. He sat down and looked around the table.

"So what is this about Ishida?"

"This is about the father of Rukia's child."

"It's you isn't it?" Said Ichigo angrily; Ishida looked at him shocked.

"Of course not! Is that what you thought all along Ichigo?!" Asked Ishida shocked, "Kuchiki-san would never go out with me, and she isn't exactly my type either!" he said laughing; no one noticed but Orihime looked relieved.

"So then, who is it?" Asked Ichigo; Ishida stopped laughing and looked serious.

"During the summer six of us were sent to Hueco Mundo to investigate strange activity; strange activities that involved Aizen, Ichimaru, Tossen, and other Espadas,"

"But Aizen is dead," said Ichigo confused.

"No Ichigo, he's not, it's a complicated story really, and I am sure that when Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku get here they will be glad to explain to you what is happening. Well, Rukia was also there. We were sent in two groups of three; she was in my group. Something happened to Nemu, and I had to run to her aid; Rukia stayed behind because she was fighting other Hollows. Then when we returned, Rukia…" he was speechless; he looked very guilty and depressed.

"Rukia what?"

"Rukia was raped by Ulquiorra, Ichigo, Ulquiorra is the father of Rukia's child," said Ishida; everyone around the table looked shocked; infuriated Ichigo grabbed Ishida by the collar of his shirt and shook him.

"It's your fault! This is all your fucking fault!"

"I know, and I am sorry, I should have been there to protect Rukia, I cannot express how guilty I feel about all of this, I haven't even had the courage to apologize to Rukia or even bring up the subject," said Ishida; Orihime placed her hand on Ichigo's shoulder to calm him down; then Ichigo let go of Ishida.

"So then, Ulquiorra? Ulquiorra is the father?" Said Ichigo; still in disbelief and sorrow.

"You're wrong Uryu Ishida, Ulquiorra is not the father, Rukia was pregnant before she left to Hueco Mundo," came a voice from outside; they all turned to see Ukitake walk in through the door.

"What?" Said Ishida surprised.

"So then…?" Asked Ichigo.

"Even you don't know everything that's going on Uryu, and believe me, there is much more to the Aizen situation than meets the eye, and it is time for you all to know the truth, not just of Rukia's pregnancy, but our present dilemma," said Rangiku walking in through the door.

"Well in that case, who is the daddy of Kuchiki-san's baby?" Asked Orihime.

"I am," came a voice from outside; they all stood in shock as a tall handsome man walked in through the door, he was tall, lean, graceful, and above all, noble. His dark gray eyes looked at them coldly, even now, his perfectly symmetrical chin and nose held high in the air with poise.

"Byakuya," said Ichigo shocked, unable to say anything else.

* * *

**_Next Chapter... _**

...**will be all about explanations, and you will all know just what the hell is going on!**

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

**All right, well here's the explanation, if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask, and let me know what you think!**

* * *

"What?!" Said Urahara shocked spitting out his tea; Renji glared at him wiping the tea that he spit on his face.

"Byakuya…but?" Said Ichigo too confused to be angry.

"So then you…?" Said Renji in disbelief pointing at Byakuya, pointing at his stomach, and forming an imaginary belly in front of him.

"Yes that was me," said Byakuya a bit annoyed.

"But…but…Kuchiki-san is your…" said Orihime speechless.

"You seem surprised, remember that Rukia is not actually my sister," said Byakuya stoically as he sat down next to Yoruichi; Rangiku and Ukitake also sat down.

"But…why?" Asked Ichigo very upset.

"Yes, wouldn't the father be someone more powerful?" Asked Orihime innocently; Byakuya was offended but fought down the outrage and held his mannered Kuchiki poise.

"My powers have increased greatly since the last time you saw me, I have simply chosen to hide them all this time," said Byakuya a bit defensively.

"Which leads us to yet another new revelation," said Ukitake sitting up a bit more straight, "you of course all know that Soul Society has a king."

"Yes, and he lives in another dimension, so what…" said Ichigo starting to grow annoyed; there was nothing he wanted to do more than launch himself across the table and strangle Byakuya's perfect noble Kuchiki neck.

"A King is selected every three hundred years; a member of one of the four noble houses is selected; once his ruling term has ended, it is the responsibility of his heir to take up the throne of king."

"Each family rules for two terms before another of the noble clans has their turn, they all rotate," said Rangiku simply.

"Yeah, we get it, and…?" Asked Ichigo rudely.

"And it is the Kuchiki Clan's turn; Byakuya was the one selected," said Ukitake; everyone in the room gasped surprised.

"Kuchiki-taicho you're the new…" said Renji.

"Not yet," said Byakuya.

"He was given two years to provide an heir since he does not have one," said Ukitake.

"Then Kuchiki-san's son is…" said Orihime surprised.

"Yes, the child is to be King when his time comes," said Byakuya.

"So that is why he is so powerful…" said Ishida feeling enlightened.

"Yes, usually the child born from a king is very powerful, even surpassing the powers of a Vaizard; it is his power that brings us to the current issue. Aizen," said Ukitake.

"Wait, you mentioned Aizen and his followers are still alive right?" Asked Renji.

"Yes, there is a lot to this story, but let us start with the beginning," said Ukitake clearing his throat for a second. "We began to suspect that he was still alive beginning April, before the winter war was over Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi left communicating devices with the Arrancar Nel, and the Shinigami that chose to stay, Ashido, this first began as an experiment, just to see if there was a better way for shinigami to communicate with Soul society in case another entrance to Hueco Mundo was needed in the future."

"The experiment was proven successful, we could communicate with them freely, but months later Ashido reported to us saying that there was an odd commotion in the Menos forest; many Hollows were joining a force and beginning to disappear, though at the time we did not know who or what this force was," said Rangiku.

"It was around mid July that Nel discovered some of the Espada working for Aizen. She went undercover becoming…close to one of them, the sixth Espada Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. He let her know that three of the Espada would be going undercover wearing gigais in a private school in the world of the living and find people with a strong spiritual energy; Aizen still planned on creating a key, he still has the Hogyoku; it seems it was also an illusion to see it destroyed," said Ukitake.

"We chose Ishida to work for us because of his intelligence and patience; it was arranged for him to transfer to the private school the Hollows would be attending once classes began. We also asked him to be part of the mission to Hueco Mundo, a mission in which we would send more Shinigami to investigate and figure out how it was that Aizen and his men survived," said Rangiku.

"We found out that they survived because of a certain type of gigai that held a portal within the body to transfer the soul to Hueco Mundo once the body was hit; a considerable portion of their spiritual energy had to be sacrificed in the process in order to make it look realistic; that is why it took him so long to begin with his plans. They all needed to recover," said Ukitake.

"Did you say…?" Said Urahara a bit shocked.

"Sounds familiar does it? It's the same gigai you and Nova were working on before the winter war began," said Ukitake.

"Yes, we abandoned it because Soul Society refused to accept any more help from us; they weren't so trusting; we got rid of the design," said Urahara.

"No, Nova kept it, he was so interested in the project that he finished it himself; Aizen found out about this and made copies of the original so no one would know that they were taken and there would be no doubts about their deaths," said Ukitake.

"Hmm…so they would have worked after all," said Urahara thoughtfully.

"Well, back to our explanations, it was also in our latest mission to Hueco Mundo that things changed, we didn't know that Rukia was already three weeks pregnant, she didn't mention it to anybody, only captain Unohana knew, but Rukia made her promise not to say anything. During her fight with one of the Menos Grande her reiatsu was discovered by Ulquiorra…he sensed the change in her, and knew that the only way he could consume the powerful spirit energy inside of her was to…it was after that that Ishida and Nemu found her. Ulquiorra mentioned this to Aizen, and now Aizen knows all about Byakuya being the next King, and that Rukia is carrying his powerful child," said Rangiku.

"What happens now? What does this mean for Rukia?" Asked Ichigo very worried.

"We don't know yet? He could do anything, he may want the child's power, he might take the child once it's born, he may even hold him and Rukia hostage to get something in return…we don't know," said Rangiku; she appeared very sincere.

"There has to be something we can do, we can't let something happen to Kuchiki-san," said Orihime sadly.

"Of course nothing will happen to Rukia, I will see to it myself that nothing happens to her or the child. Beginning tomorrow she will be living with me," said Byakuya standing up.

"What?! Why?! She's fine with me!" Screamed Ichigo furiously as he also stood up.

"In the condition that she is, there is something she and the child will need from me that you could never provide," said Byakuya stoically.

"You're lying!"

"I do not lie. I am the father, and as such, the child needs me, he needs my reiatsu and so does Rukia, there is nothing you can do for them Kurosaki, now if you'll excuse me, there is somewhere I need to be," said Byakuya looking at him coldly as he walked away.

"Why her?! Why Rukia! It could have been anyone else, so why her?" Asked Ichigo attempting to control his temper.

"It was decided by the Kuchiki elders; Byakuya-sama has been grieving for his wife's death for a long time now, and even though he's a major hottie and totally doable…he refused to be involved with any woman in respect for his wife's memory. That's why they chose Rukia, she is identical to Hisana, and on top of that perhaps the only female that Byakuya cares for…they figured that if they convinced Rukia to seduce him…then he would eventually give in," said Rangiku.

"So she wanted this?" Asked Ichigo a bit hurt.

"Well I wouldn't put it like that, but she does care for and respects Byakuya-sama very much; she would do anything for him, he is after all the man that took her in and provided her with a home," said Rangiku.

"Yeah, some home," said Ichigo bitterly.

* * *

Rukia was sleeping in Ichigo's room when suddenly she felt a very familiar reiatsu coming from outside. She was a bit sore, but other than that she was fine, she did not bother to change out of her plaid pajamas. She climbed out the window and up onto the roof. She sat there, waiting for him to come, like she knew he would. She closed her eyes, and opened them again when she felt him embrace her from behind.

"Nii-sama."

"Rukia," said Byakuya; he trailed kisses down her jaw line and she closed her eyes. Just having him like this already made her feel stronger…healthier.

"They know," he whispered in her ear, and she widened her eyes.

"But… did they really need to know? couldn't we have kept it a secret?" She felt him move away and soon he was sitting next to her.

"Yes, it was necessary, the Hollows are beginning to attack, and as much as I dislike Kurosaki and his friends…they deserve to know why."

"Yes, you're right," said Rukia sadly looking up at him.

"You look weak, do you need my reiatsu?" Asked Byakuya suggestively as he ran one of his hands through her hair while the other hand traced her jaw line and her lips.

"I…umm…" he left her speechless every time; with a simple touch she lost all ability to think. She felt his lips press softly against hers and relished in the warmth of his mouth. She pressed herself against him and wrapped her arms around his neck running one hand along his silky hair. She slid her tongue past his mouth and began to taste him when he suddenly pulled away leaving her dazed and confused.

"What's wrong?" She asked a bit cautiously, fearing that she might have done something wrong.

"Kurosaki," said Byakuya; Rukia noticed he was right, she could sense him too, he would be here any minute now.

"Rukia, you must know, I will be staying here in the world of the living."

"You will?" Asked Rukia brightly.

"Yes, I will be living in a house in Karakura Town, and you will be living there with me."

"What?" Asked Rukia a bit taken aback.

"You will be attending school, and I will be watching closely over you; to the public I will be your adoptive brother."

"But isn't that what you already are?" Asked Rukia.

"I don't know, am I?" Asked Byakuya giving her one of those **extremely** rare warm smiles of his.

"Well…umm…I don't know, are you…I mean…?" She asked scratching the back of her neck nervously.

"We will be in private and in public whatever you choose Rukia; if you choose to tell your classmates that I am both your adoptive brother and your lover, then that is fine with me," said Byakuya; the stoic look on his face when he said that made her want to laugh, how could he say that with a straight face?!

"Well in that case, you will be both my adoptive brother and the _father of my child_ who I accidentally-slept-with-over-the-summer-as-a-result-of-too-much-sake," she said blushing madly.

"Fine," he said stoically; he gave her an almost emotionless kiss on the forehead and flash stepped out of there.

"Adoptive brother and baby's father huh?" said Rukia thoughtfully thinking over the situation with a critical eye, "well, I guess that will make me more popular since my acting is perfect and people in my school seem to be very accepting of '_forbidden affairs'_" said Rukia to herself; then she climbed back inside Ichigo's room and went to sleep.

* * *

Once Ichigo got to his house and entered his room Rukia was already asleep. He looked at her and sighed, things would be changing even more now. He wanted to keep her here with him, but perhaps Byakuya was right, perhaps there was nothing he could do for her except let her go.

He walked towards her and kissed her briefly on the lips he ran his fingertips along her face, watching how beautiful the moon shone upon her. He kissed her again, this time a bit longer, then he grabbed a blanket and headed towards the living room. Once he left the room Rukia opened her eyes and placed her fingertips on her lips.

"Why don't you ever do that when I'm awake?" She whispered to herself, "don't you know I would kiss you back you baka?"


	13. Chapter 13

All right, well since the last chapter was heavy with information this is going to be a very light one! Warning, this will be a very mushy wuvy kissy kissy chapter. This one will deal with relationships.

Oh and by the way, in a month and a half or so when I return from my photo journalism safari abroad...

...I will be writing a new fic titled **_Seducing Byakuya Kuchiki_**, it will be this story but through the eyes of Rukia and Byakuya, we will get into detail about the elder meeting, and Rukia's struggle on learning to cope with what she has to do with Byakuya. Byakuya doesnt want to be involved with her and she has to put her own discomfort aside to seduce him and convince him to sleep with her. It will by in omniscient point of view and begin from when the elders arrive at Ichigo's room but will end sooner than this fic, it will only go up to when Ichigo arrives to Soul Society and discovers Rukia pregnant. Although it will be connected to this story, it can be read independantly.

Well Anyway...presenting CHAPTER THIRTEEN!

Enjoy! And let me know what you think!

* * *

"Mr. Kuchiki, is that right?"

"Yes," said Byakuya in a monotone, he was in a gigai and wearing a black suit and a tie that was the same shade of gray as his eyes; he also wore reading glasses, which were Lieutenant Rangiku's idea, she said it would suit him with his undercover identity.

At the moment he was with a real estate agent looking for what would be his house for the next six to seven months. The young blonde woman seemed thrilled to be spending time with him, he had already said "This will do" to the last three houses but the woman insisted that they at least look at the next few on the list; that the houses would seem more to his taste.

The house they were in at the moment was a very spacious two story house, there were three chimneys, two bedrooms, a library, a mirrored room for exercising, three bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, mini theatre room, dance room, a study for him to finish his work, and a pool area with glass walls.

"Do you find this one to your liking?"

"This will do," he said stoically.

"Yes, it's very pretty isn't it, but don't you think you'll…be a bit lonely in such a big house all by yourself," said the woman seductively as she removed her glasses.

"The space is appropriate, my sister will be living with me; she will be giving birth to my son in five to six months, children need their space do you not think so?" Said Byakuya looking very serious; the woman was shocked but attempted not to show it.

"Why yes of course," she said smiling; she immediately took two steps away from him, "well that should be all then, credit or cash?"

"Cash," he said taking out a briefcase full of money; the woman looked as if she was about to faint.

* * *

Rukia and Ichigo were at the park, Rukia was lying back on the grass and Ichigo was sitting next to her reading a history book.

"You should have read that thing during vacation, not very wise of you to be reading it last minute," said Rukia looking up at the clouds, but Ichigo didn't reply; she expected a comeback and was a little worried that she didn't get one.

"What's wrong with you Ichigo? Are you even reading that book?" Asked Rukia.

"Of course I am," said Ichigo defensively.

"Then what is the chapter about? And don't look," said Rukia sitting up, she took the book from him, looked at it, and then back at him.

"I don't need to prove anything to you," said Ichigo crossing his arms over his chest.

"Come on, what's wrong do I have to punch the answer out of you?" Said Rukia rolling up the sleeve of her sweater. Ichigo ignored her and lied back on the grass.

"I know," said Ichigo; Rukia knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Yeah, I already knew you know."

"He told you didn't he?" Asked Ichigo looking at the clouds and still failing to look at her.

"Yes."

"When?"

"Last night."

"So that's where he needed to be," said Ichigo laughing to himself bitterly, "then I take it he also told you you're moving in with him."

"Yes. So what do you think about that?" Asked Rukia.

"What do you mean what do I think about it, it's none of my business, I don't care," he said simply; as soon as he said that he found both of his arms pinned on either side of his head, Rukia was on top of him straddling his waist and glaring down on him.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"What am I doing? What you should have done a long time ago that's what! I planned on being a lady and waiting but damn it Ichigo you make it difficult with you moping around about something that shouldn't even be that big of an issue!"

"What are you talking about?"

"About Byakuya! Yes we're having a baby together, and yes that baby just happens to be one of strongest beings in the planet! But what I feel for Byakuya could never compare to what I feel for you, to what I felt for you ever since I met you long before any of this crap happened!" He looked at her surprised; his eyes softened at the sight of her falling tears.

"Rukia."

"You shouldn't be so worried Ichigo. Trust me, trust me because I love you," she finally said; his eyes widened, "and I don't know if you feel the same, but I know it's pretty damn close, because you do…this, when you think either of us is not conscious," she said; she tilted her face closer to his and pressed her lips softly to his. She let go of his hands and placed them on his face. Immediately he closed his eyes and responded to her kiss, he flipped her over and hovered above her as he placed a hand on her waist while the other was beside her face supporting his weight.

He stopped and opened his eyes; he noticed the pink blush on her cheeks as she looked away a bit embarrassed. He cupped her chin gently and turned her to look at him.

"Yeah, I'm guessing it is pretty damn close to love," he smiled; smiling she punched his shoulder.

"Guessing? Pretty damn close?"

"Fine," he chuckled; then he looked into her eyes very seriously, " I love you Rukia," he said; he tilted his head down and captured her lips in a crushing kiss.

* * *

Orihime stood in front of Ishida's door and knocked; she held a picnic basket in her hand. The door opened and she immediately closed her eyes and launched herself at the person, kissing them on the lips and wrapping her arms around that person's neck. She heard a surprised gasp, and it didn't sound like Ishida, without opening her eyes she felt the person's shoulders and immediately noted that it was not him, this person was shorter, and slimmer. She opened her eyes fearfully and her fears were confirmed; she immediately let go.

"Captain Soi Fong please forgive me!" Said Orihime very embarrassed bowing. Soi Fong wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked at the girl furiously.

"You better be grateful that wasn't my first kiss, otherwise you would be dead you foolish ryoka," said Soi Fong walking into the house; Orihime did the same.

"Uryuu you have a visitor!" Shouted Soi Fong as she and Orihime sat on separate couches in the living room.

"Uryuu? So you can call me by my first name but I cant call you Soi?" Said Ishida from inside the kitchen; then he walked into the living room and was a bit surprised to find Orihime there.

"Hello Orihime," he said blushing madly; Orihime blushed as well. Soi Fong rolled her eyes and left them alone.

"I…I was hoping we would… have a picnic by the beach," said Orihime as her cheeks turned pink.

"All right," said Ishida as scratching the back of his neck bashfully; he took her hand and they walked out of there together.

* * *

Ukitake, Hitsugaya, Rangiku, and Urahara were sitting in Urahara's shop having tea; a moment later Captain Soi Fong arrived breathing heavily.

"Captain Soi Fong, you have been late to our meetings a lot lately," said Ukitake.

"I'm sorry, I was busy," said Soi Fong.

"That's very unlike you captain Soi Fong, letting a boy interfere with your work," teased Rangiku; Soi Fong glared at her.

"I do not let anyone interfere with my work Lieutenant Rangiku," said Soi Fong annoyed.

"Getting back to business, we need to do something about the missing ones," said Ukitake.

"So you're really thinking what I'm thinking?" Asked Urahara.

"Yes, and if this is true we will be sending an expedition to Hueco Mundo soon," said Ukitake.

* * *

That night Ichigo and Rukia had just come out of a movie and walking towards the beach; once they reached the sand, Ichigo carried Rukia in his arms bridal style and she pretended to be bothered by it.

"I am perfectly capable of walking, Mr. Kurosaki," she teased.

"I am aware of that Miss Kuchiki, but as your hero it is my job to take care of you."

"As my hero? When did that happen?" She asked laughing.

"Well after the hundreds of times I have saved your life…I think you have officially become my damsel in distress," he said; she punched him playfully.

"That hurt you stupid midget!" she hit him harder than intended.

"Oh shut up and take it like a man," she scoffed; then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him under the ear.

"I see the mood swings are beginning to kick in," he laughed; then Rukia started crying.

"Oh, god you know I didn't mean that right?" He said, unsure of how to apologize; then she started laughing.

"You should have seen the look on your face, you looked so guilty," said Rukia; Ichigo glared at her and laid her on the ground; then he lied next to her.

"You can be a bitch sometimes you know," said Ichigo annoyed; she smiled at him and pulled him by the collar of his shirt until his face was millimeters from hers.

"So. Now shut up and kiss me," she said; before complying he looked at her, her body bathing radiantly in the moonlight, he felt dazed for a moment, mesmerized by her stunning violet orbs; he snapped out of it when she grunted.

"So are you just gonna stare at me like that all night?!"

"Shut up can't you see I'm trying to admire your beauty?!"

"Well can't you admire it faster?!" She exclaimed; they looked at each other furiously for a moment but then broke into laughter. Ichigo was the first to stop, he looked her deeply in the eyes and waited until she stopped laughing to crush his lips to hers.

* * *

"Uryuu…" Orihime's thoughts and phrases were incoherent as Ishida's hands roamed her body fervently and his lips drew paths on her neck. She ran her hands through his hair as he hovered above her creating magic with his long skilled hands.

He froze suddenly when he felt Orihime's hand take his hand and place it over one of her voluptuous mounds. When she felt him hesitate she ground her hips against his to encourage him; he looked down at her surprised.

"Are you sure?" she didn't say anything, merely nodded, her warm eyes looking at him lovingly as she smiled.

"But, here? But won't others see?"

"Your house, please," she said arching into him; he grabbed her and they both ran out of there holding hands.

* * *

Renji and Byakuya were at Byakuya's new house; Byakuya was sitting by the table in his study finishing his paperwork; Renji was sitting in a couch in his study listening to music on an ipod and reading a manga.

Byakuya finished and walked out of there and into the kitchen for a glass of water. Renji shortly followed after him and helped himself to some milk from the fridge; he sat by the table and put his feet on the table. Byakuya glared at him as he drank the milk straight from the carton.

"Why are you still here lieutenant?" Byakuya asked a bit annoyed.

"You don't have any guards to care for your premises here Kuchiki-taicho; I am merely doing my job as your subordinate."

"I will guard this house on my own lieutenant, I assure you there is nothing for you to fret about, you may leave to you quarters," said Byakuya.

"Hai Kuchiki-taicho," said Renji bowing and he left our of there.

* * *

Soi Fong was inside her room attempting to finish her paperwork but to no avail. The loud thumps and moaning coming from the next room did not allow her to concentrate. She wanted to run in there and yell at them to shut up, but she didn't feel like interrupting anything…or running into images that she was trying to keep out of her mind at the moment.

She turned back to her paper and accidentally spilled ink when a frantic scream came from the ryoka girl next door. She growled frustrated and cleaned the ink spill with a towel. Every time she tried to write something images of Uryuu Ishida in all his glory popped into her head and she couldn't help but to blush or become a little agitated.

It bothered her even more knowing that the ryoka girl was with him, it couldn't be helped…was she jealous. Frustrated she jumped out the window with her paperwork and resumed to finishing her paperwork outside under the moonlight.

* * *

Ichigo was walking Rukia to her new home; surprisingly it was very close to his, only a twenty minute walk. They stood in front of the large house and both of their jaws dropped.

"Wow nii-sama really went all out on this didn't he?" Said Rukia impressed.

"Nii-sama? You still call him that?" He asked surprised; she glared at him, "well it doesn't surprise me that he bought this place, Byakuya is tied to the world of luxury," said Ichigo.

"Well, I really should go, I need to unpack," said Rukia turning to face Ichigo.

"Well it's a good thing he came to pick up your stuff while we were gone; he told my dad he was your brother," said Ichigo.

"Well, goodnight," said Rukia looking up at him a bit bashfully.

"Goodnight," said Ichigo; he leaned down and kissed her in earnest, wrapping his arms around her. She had to pull away because he had no signs of stopping anytime soon.

"See you tomorrow Ichigo," she smiled; she kissed him briefly on the cheek and then walked inside. He watched her as he left, and unlike the last couple of times, he didn't feel afraid about watching her leave.

Once inside Rukia walked to the living room and found Byakuya sitting on the couch flipping through a novel. Even though he knew she was there he did not turn to look at her, too interested in the novel. She had to grunt to get his attention.

"Nii-sama, could you please show me to my room?" Asked Rukia; he nodded and walked with her upstairs. Once inside Rukia noticed how beautiful it was, though it appeared to be strangely childish.

"Is this my room?" She asked a little confused.

"No, that will be the baby room, you will be staying with me."

"But nii-sama."

"You do not need to worry about that Rukia," he said, and they walked to the other room; there were two large beds there; she felt a sense of relief, but also a sense of disappointment.

"I will be reading downstairs," he said leaving the room, but then he paused, "Rukia, I am aware of your relationship with Kurosaki, but to me the life of my heir comes first. You are weak, be expecting a reiatsu transfer one of these nights," he said stoically, never turning to look at her; then he left the room.

Rukia sat on the bed, she didn't know what to do, she loved Ichigo, but she knew that as long as this child was inside of her, she would have to be intimate with Byakuya. And what made things worse was that…she wasn't so sure she hated that idea, her body longed for him, for his smell, his touch. Was it possible? Was it possible to love two men at the same time?

* * *

Ishida and Orihime were inside Ishida's room and lying on his bed. Orihime was fast asleep tangled in the bed sheets, Ishida embraced the bare girl next to him and glided his hand along the silky skin of her back. He smiled, he was the first man in her life; it had been very clear during their lovemaking, he was the first to know the texture and taste of her flawless skin. He put on his boxers and walked out of the room and into the kitchen for a glass of water. Once there he saw Soi Fong sitting by the table; resting her head on a stack of papers on the table, fast asleep. He drank some water and the walked over and tapped on her shoulder.

"Soi, you should probably go to your room before you fall off the chair," he said; suddenly a half asleep Soi Fang rose her head up, pulled his face down to hers and kissed him passionately; his eyes widened in surprise, and coming to her senses she finally let go of him.

"I'm sorry," she said very carelessly; she grabbed the stack of papers and left to her room. Ishida looked very confused, he blinked a couple of times and then went back to his room to join Orihime in bed.


	14. Chapter 14

Woah, well, it's been a while, I'm sorry I was unable to update, I got caught up in well...lots of things, it was a good trip all in all though, I have like a million insect bites...but I'm okay!

Well here's the next Chappie, this one has lots of angst; some of you may hate me after this, but it is necessary for these things to happen, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise! It might seem a bit rushed, but keep in mind that I haven't been writing for over a month and I'm doing all in my power to not make this story too long, other than that, enjoy!

* * *

_January 10th…_

Ishida snuck through the streets and to his school very cautiously; he froze when he bumped into someone else as he looked back. It was her, she glared at him and extended her palm towards him asking for something.

"Where is it?"

"What do you mean where is what?"

"My zanpakuto you imbecile!"

Ever since the night when she kissed him two weeks ago, Soi Fong had been acting frighteningly strange. She carried her zanpakuto everywhere and seemed to use it for just about anything she could think of. Haircuts, chopping vegetables, cutting grass, shaving her legs, stirring her morning tea, turning on the television; what frightened Ishida the most was the deadly look she had in her eyes whenever he was around, he could even swear that she clutched the handle of her zanpakuto tighter whenever he walked into the room.

Another disturbing fact that added to the suspicion of there being something amiss with Soi's sanity was the dozens of cages in their backyard. She suddenly took a liking to buying and slaughtering her own chickens with her zanpakuto. When he asked her why she did this, she answered saying that she liked her meat freshly killed, though she seemed to release a lot of pent up rage whenever she killed the chickens.

"I have no idea where you left it," said Ishida taking a nervous gulp.

"Don't you dare mock me puny adolescent boy! Now where is my zanpakuto?!" Asked Soi Fong grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"Soi-chan! Uryuu-kun!" Said two voices from afar; Soi Fong immediate grabbed Ishida and kissed him to hide from the approaching girls that she was about to punch him. Ishida's eyes widened, but when he notices the blonde and the read-head walking towards them he closes his eyes and returns her kiss very enthusiastically.

"Soi? Uryuu?" Said Christine as she and Yukina approached them.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, I was too busy making out with my boyfriend," said Soi batting her eyelashes in an exaggeratedly sweet manner, "right Uryuu?" He didn't answer and she turned to look at him; he looked dazed; she had to glare at him for him to shake his head and come back down to earth.

"Well we just wanted to say hi and invite you to our Valentine's day party, it's still far away but we like to get everything prepared ahead of time," said Yukina giving them invitations.

"Thanks! We'll be there, right boo?" Said Soi Fong biting his earlobe seductively; Ishida could only nod.

"Well, we'll be expecting you there then. Oh and…Soi…happy first day of school," said Christine; before Soi could pull away, Christine kissed her on the lips; she quickly ran out of there giggling alongside Yukina.

"Stupid lesbians, that's the second time I've been kissed by a girl so far," said Soi Fong wiping her mouth.

"Who was the first?"

"Inoue," said Soi Fong; then she walked towards the school building.

Orihime, Ishida became confused and saddened every time he heard her name. The morning after they made love two weeks ago she started acting very strangely; she left in a hurry and hadn't spoken to him ever since…

…

_Ishida woke up to find her enveloped in his arms. He smiled at this and placed a gentle kiss on the nape of her neck. She smelled wonderful, like the rain. He couldn't help himself, he needed to taste her again. He rolled his tongue to the side of her neck and sucked on her pulse point. He felt her begin to stir and nuzzled her neck._

_"Morning," he whispered in her ear as he sprinkled kisses along her jaw line and down her neck._

_"Morning," she mewled turning her head to the side and giving his bottom lip a gentle bite. He took this as a signal to continue and slid his tongue past her lips savoring the taste of her._

_While he kissed her his hands slid the sheets off of her and then glided down to her stomach. His hands drew circles on her large mounds and then back to her abdomen and lower…it was then that she froze and opened her eyes. She pulled away from him and covered herself with the white bed sheets again._

_"Is something wrong?" He asked her; she didn't say anything, instead she slipped a hand inside the sheets and between her legs. She brought the hand in front of her face and her eyes widened at the sight of blood on her fingertips._

_"Well that's perfectly normal Orihime."_

_"I have to go," she said; she dashed out of bed attempting as best as she could to cover her bare body with her hands, she took her clothes, ran to the restroom, and once she was finished she left the house without another word._

* * *

Orihime sat inside her creative writing class looking out the window thoughtfully. She watched a bird pass by and sighed only to bury her face in her hands again.

"Hey what's been up with Orihime?" Chizuru asked Tatsuki; Tatsuki shrugged.

"I don't know, she has been like this for two weeks."

…

"I wonder who the new teacher will be," said Mizuiro.

"I just hope she's hot!" Said Keigo; Ichigo heard them and rolled his eyes. He turned to look at Rukia who was sitting by the desk next to him; she had a sandwich on her lap and ate it discretely.

"You didn't have enough to eat during lunch?" He asked surprised, recalling the three sandwiches, two bowls of rice, two slices of cake, and five slices of pizza that she ate.

"It's not that, they wont stop staring at me," said Rukia miserably as she glanced over at the girls in the classroom, they were all staring at her, they had been since that morning.

…

"_Kuchiki-san you're pregnant?!" Asked a group of girls as she and Ichigo walked in through the school's gates._

"_Is Kurosaki-kun the father?"_

"_When did this happen?" Rukia didn't know what to say to them. She just remained silent, Ichigo pulled her away from the group of girls._

"_Just ignore them," he said giving her hand a light squeeze and then letting her go._

…

"Just ignore them," said Ichigo, the same phrase he had repeated countless times during the day. Rukia wasn't the only one they stared at; they all seemed to think he was the father. But unlike Rukia he didn't care, not only because he wouldn't mind being he father, but because he was too tired from fighting off Hollows to deal with anything else.

Just in the past three days he had fought a minimum twenty five Hollows, four of them Arrancar. It helped that someone as strong as Byakuya was around; they finished them off a lot faster that way. Hollows were raining on Rukia, and unfortunately she seemed to grow weaker every day. A fact that he did not fail to notice, but at the same time did not speak about to Rukia, he knew how much she disliked worrying him, and if worrying him worried her, then he would pretend not to be worried.

...

Renji, Hitsugaya, and Rangiku were sitting a couple of seats away from Rukia and Ichigo; Renji covered his ears trying to block out the gossiping that came from the group of girls concerning Rukia's pregnancy and the new professor.

"Seriously, does it even matter who the new professor is, he or she will only be assigning homework anyway,' complained Renji.

"Actually lieutenant Abarai, you might find that there is more to this professor than meets the eye," said Hitsugaya.

"Yeah, and all these squeamish school girls won't be disappointed either," said Rangiku with a smirk.

The jaw of every single girl and even some boys in the classroom dropped at the sight of their new professor; even Chizuru the lesbian looked at him with adoration. Ichigo was flabbergasted and so was Rukia, though she was also horrified. 'That settles it, god must hate me, damn you Yamamoto!' she thought to herself as the gorgeous tall man wrote his name on the board.

"Hello class, I am professor Kuchiki and I will be your creative writing teacher for the next four months," said Byakuya stoically.

"As your first assignment you will be reading and writing an essay on the script of the 1979 movie _Caligula_," said Byakuya; Rukia was shocked. '_He wouldn't_…' she thought to herself.

"Professor Kuchiki, what will it be about?" Asked Keigo.

"About the third Emperor of the Roman Empire."

"Professor, but isn't that the one that…" Mizuiro tried not to laugh as he said this, "had umm…intimate relationships with his sisters." Rukia's eyes widened, the chronicles of her shame were about to begin.

"Yes, but that is not the point, it is to witness as readers the fall of a once mighty political leader."

"Speaking of sisters, professor Kuchiki, are you related to Rukia Kuchiki?" Asked Chizuru looking over at Rukia.

"Yes, she is my sister," said Byakuya emotionlessly not even turning to look at her.

"I thought you'd be, you're both drop dead gorge…I mean, you both have great hair," said Chizuru.

"Very well then, Rukia follow me into the office to help me bring copies of the scripts." Rukia nodded and stood up nervously; sensing her discomfort, the child in her womb gave a sudden kick which startled her; she jumped up surprised and placed her hand on her stomach.

"Awe the baby kicked!" Cooed a group of girls in unison as they giggled; Rukia's face turned as red as a tomato but she ignored them.

* * *

In the copy room, Rukia took and stapled the papers together as Byakuya passed them to her. It was silent, too silent; they had not actually carried out a conversation for almost a month; the two weeks they had spent living together they rarely ever ran into each other; either she was out with Ichigo or he was in a Captain's meeting.

"Wouldn't it be nice to have one of these machines back at Sereitei?" She asked unable to stand the awkward silence any longer. Byakuya however didn't even so much as acknowledge her; he seemed very deep in thought about something.

"You have been fainting quite frequently," he stated, still looking intently at the copy machine.

"Well that's normal, I am after all pregnant, nii-sama," she laughed; he turned to glare at her, not seeming to find anything funny about it.

"You are weak Rukia, if you continue on denying me, the child will die," he said.

"But nii-sama-"

"How Kurosaki feels about this does not matter to me. It only matters that you and the child survive, and if I must force myself on you Rukia, then I will. I will not allow a naïve adolescent romance to endanger the life of my family, of course it would be preferable if you came to your senses and complied. My…my child's life is what's most important to me, and I am not one to set your moral priorities, but isn't that emotion twice as strong for the mother? I do respect your wishes Rukia, but understand that in this case I must make an exception," said Byakuya; Rukia's jaw dropped, that was probably the most she had ever heard him speak, and so passionately too, his cold uncaring eyes were suddenly lit with emotion, though anger would not have been the emotion she would have preferred.

"Understood nii-sama," said Rukia not able to hold in her sadness.

"I am glad to see we have reached an understanding, skip my class and get some rest," said Byakuya, it was not a suggestion, it was a demand; Rukia nodded. Byakuya was about to leave out the door but paused and looked at her as if he wanted to say something, but then just lowered his gaze to her womb and then left out the room.

Rukia looked down sadly and placed a hand on her stomach thoughtfully. He was right, Byakuya…no…the father of her child, had made a very important point, one that was crucial to them both. Even though their mentality and priorities were usually very different, at this point in time they both wished for the same thing, the well-being of their unborn child. She loved Ichigo, she did, and she knew that he would perhaps understand. He would forgive her for being involved with Byakuya, but in the process he would be very hurt; she couldn't have that…even thought it tore her inside, there was something she knew she must do, for her child, and even for Ichigo…

* * *

Orihime and Tatsuki were at the park; they were both on the swings facing each other; Orihime looked at the floor as Tatsuki looked at her. Orihime drew hearts on the sand with her toes and then erased them again.

"Orihime, what's wrong?"

"Why do you ask Tatsuki?" Said Orihime suddenly very cheerful.

"Well, you've been mopping around all day, and that's not like you

"Nothing really I just…what would you do if you realized you made a mistake, but to somebody else it didn't seem like a mistake, to them let's say it's like a gift, how do you let them know that you regret giving it, or maybe was a bit confused at the time you gave it?"

"Well, I don't know, it depends what kind of gift it is. It's not that I don't care about other people, but you know me and the importance of being earnest!" laughed Tatsuki; Orihime didn't get it.

"It's an English play from Oscar Wilde, it's on the list that Byakuya gave us, I had read it before though, even watched the movie. It's weird isn't it? Having Captain Kuchiki as our professor, it must be even weirder for Rukia," said Tatsuki.

"Yes, it must be very weird, poor Kuchiki-san…" said Orihime sadly.

* * *

Ichigo walked out to the front of the school to wait for Rukia. School was over and he had not seen her in the last two periods; once she left with Byakuya to get some copies she did not return. He waited silently ignoring the stares and pointed fingers given to him by his other classmates. He heard the whispers grow louder as Rukia walked over to him; he looked at her curiously wondering why she had that glum look on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"We need to talk."

* * *

That afternoon Ishida sat inside his living room, alone. There were no signs of Soi Fong anywhere, which he considered a good thing; he didn't have to be worried about being massacred by her poisonous zanpakuto. Or maybe…perhaps she was in the house…but didn't want him to know…maybe she wanted to catch him unsuspecting. Ishida immediately stood up and paced around the room quietly. He gave a sudden jump when the door bell rang; he then sighed relieved and opened the door, it was…

"Orihime? Wow…I mean, hello, come in," said Ishida genuinely surprised to see her there.

"Hi Uryuu," said Orihime timidly walking inside; then they both sat on the couch.

"Well, it's good to see you, it's been a while."

"Well I've been busy with school… is that a dead chicken on top of your TV?!" Asked Orihime surprised observing the beheaded, still covered in feathers.

"Long story," said Ishida sheepishly scratching the back of his head, "so, what have you been up to? It felt like you pretty much ran out on me after…"

"That's, that's why I'm here," said Orihime loosening the collar of her shirt.

"What? You mean…right now? Soi Fong might get home any-"

"No, not that, it's just a little warm in here," smiled Orihime nervously.

"So then, why are you here?"

"This, this whole thing Uryuu, it can't go on anymore," said Orihime uncomfortably.

"Well, it's all right, we don't have to do that anymore, I promise," said Ishida.

"No, I mean, us. The way I felt after doing that with you, it made me realize that this is wrong, we're wrong; I don't love you Uryuu."

"What? Oh come on, you can't say it just because of what happened, you were probably just nervous…maybe you weren't ready and you…"

"No! stop it Ishida! You're making this more difficult! don't you understand? I never loved you! I never will!"

"Why? So you…you lied to me? Why now? Why do you tell me this now?" Asked Ishida quietly.

"Yes, I lied to you, I'm a horrible person! And that's why you need to forget about me!" Said Orihime standing up and bursting into tears.

"Wait, no, you don't mean that Orihime, I know you don't," said Ishida standing up and placing one hand under her chin.

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do?"

"How?"

"Because you're crying Orihime, you don't want to leave me, we both know that."

"Of course I want to leave you…I…I'm in love with someone else," said Orihime nervously, making it up as she went, lying to get him off her back.

"Who?" Asked Ishida looking a bit hurt.

"Kurosaki-kun," said Orihime; Ichigo was the first person she could think of, "we're dating, so leave me alone!" she said; then she ran out of there, leaving Ishida too shocked to respond in any other way.

* * *

"Rukia…" said Ichigo shocked. He and Rukia were at the nearby park sitting on the grass under a tree.

"I'm sorry Ichigo, but you need to understand, I don't want to hurt you…this is the only way, nii-sama…nii-sama is the father of my child, my baby needs him. I can't be with both of you at the same time, it's immoral…it's unfair," said Rukia quietly.

"That's my decision to make you stupid midget! If I say I don't care if you're with him and me at the same time then damn Rukia don't try to change that decision for me!"

"I can't, I wouldn't only hurt you, I would hurt nii-sama, and whether you like it or not, I do love him."

"What?" Asked Ichigo taken aback.

"Yes, Ichigo, I love him! No matter how much I love you…he was the first man in my life, and…and…when I think about it, I'm glad he was…I don't think I would have been comfortable with anyone else…"

"Rukia…how could…"

"I'm sorry, but it's for my baby, I don't want something like this hurting him. Our relationship is harming him Ichigo, first of all because I won't let Byakuya touch me, and secondly, because he won't know the happiness of a family, I never knew my mother or my father, and I don't want to deprive him from the chances of having them both…"

"But I could be his father! He could have to fathers, wouldn't that be better? Byakuya could still be in his life, I wouldn't mind…Rukia…"

"I'm sorry, Ichigo, but I must go," said Rukia sadly; she stood up and left. Ichigo watched her leave with the sunset.

* * *

It was night; Byakuya sat by the fireplace in his study reading a novel. How fascinating these people in the living world were…and what great novels they wrote. He was currently reading Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, and thoroughly enjoying it. He set the book down when he heard Rukia walk into the living room, this time choosing not to ignore her, especially the fact that she was home very late and appeared very tired.

"It is past eleven, this is not an hour to be arriving home in your condition," he said picking up his book again.

"I'm sorry nii-sama, it will not happen again," said Rukia emotionlessly; this surprised him, she mirrored his usual expression exactly. The fiery and emotional Rukia seemed nowhere in sight, but choosing not to show his concerned, he looked at her indifferently.

"What kept you?" He said still reading.

"I had to take care of a little problem," she said walking over to him.

"Were you successful in your attempts?" He asked.

"Yes…quite," she said; then he looked up from the book and at her. He was surprised by what she did next. She sauntered to him swaying her hips seductively and then stood in front of him.

She took his book and threw it to the floor, then sat on his lap, straddling him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair as she looked heatedly into his eyes.

"Let's not keep Hideto waiting," she mumbled onto his lips; then pecked him briefly.

"Hideto?" He managed to ask through feather light kisses.

"That's what I decided to name our baby," she said kissing along his jaw line, "what do you think?"

"It is a suitable name," he said wrapping his arms around her waist; she shuddered pleasantly as he ran his hands inside her shirt and up her back, massaging her spine gently.

"Though I will punish you for deciding on the name without consulting me first," he said running his lips and teeth along her neck.

"Well then, stop talking and punish me," she said; then she grinded herself down on him causing him to moan involuntarily. He leaned his head back on the couch as she sprinkled his neck with kisses.

Then suddenly, he opened his eyes, there was something very wrong about this. It was not like Rukia to advance on him like this, and she was never as…dominating. There was definitely something wrong with her, he could sense it in her lips, her touch, cold, uncaring…

"Rukia, wait," said Byakuya; Rukia stopped.

"What is it Byakuya-kun," she teased as she ran her hands down his chest, abdomen, and down…

"A-are you feeling well? I do not wish to hurt you or Hideto," said Byakuya stifling a moan as she stroked him.

"I'm fine, and your touches could only make both the baby and I feel better," she said smiling; then proceeded to kiss him on the lips, eventually plunging her tongue inside his mouth and tasting him.

"Rukia…"

"I already told you I'm…" then he placed a finger to her lips.

"Bed, now," he said Lifting her into his arms and carrying her upstairs in flash step.

"Nii-sama!" shrieked Rukia in fear she would fall.

* * *

"Five-hundred-and-thirty-five," said Ichigo counting the stars, he was sitting by his window; finding nothing better to do he did this. Giving up on counting he lied on the bed and closed his eyes. But then exasperated he sat up again.

"Rukia…" he said, he could not believe it was really over, his Rukia…leave him for…Byakuya? It was unthinkable, something he never would have foreseen, the man was a block of ice for goodness sake! And Rukia…she was so warm….so full of life and emotion. How was it that someone like Byakuya took her from him? He couldn't understand how…

"Ichigo!" A sudden scream broke him from his thoughts…it was Orihime, she was standing by the window and inside his room.

"Orihime? How did you…?"

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun, but I'm in trouble…and I need you to help me."

"What? What happened?"

"Well, I lied to someone about something, but I did it for a good reason I promise, and…and you were included in that lie," said Orihime standing in front of him.

"Me? Well, what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend," said Orihime looking very embarrassed.

"Your what?!"

* * *

Ishida was inside the kitchen with Soi Fong. He was doing his homework but having a hard time concentrating, while Soi Fong was plucking a chicken. She interrupted his daydream by slamming the plucked chicken on the table.

"What?" Said Ishida snapping out of it.

"It's rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you," she said glaringly.

"I'm sorry I just…"

"I was just saying that…I think we should go as Aries and Aphrodite to the Valentine's Day party."

"What?"

"Well, Christine said that we had to take costumes, and Aphrodite, isn't she supposed to be the goddess of wisdom or something of the sort?"

"What? Oh yes, yes she is," said Ishida holding back the urge to laugh.

"Yes, I will be a wise and powerful goddess," said Soi Fong raising her fist into the air, "well, I'll be off now, see you tomorrow," said Soi Fong walking away. "Oh, and another thing, you shouldn't look so upset, it's bad enough having me as a pessimistic person in the house," smiled Soi Fong; then she left the kitchen. Ishida blinked a couple of times confused, did Soi Fong just…smile?


	15. Chapter 15

All right, so this chapter should be a bit more interesting...more things happening here.

Oh, and I know Byakuya and Rukia might be a bit OOC, but well, at this point of the story they've both been through a lot, and such things have caused them to grow closer together, and have even caused Byakuya to be more emotional, well...only with Rukia though XD

Well anyway, enjoy!

* * *

_February 13th_

Inside a dark room, Ulquiorra sat by a table with two cloaked figures.

"We find it would be best if we attack tomorrow," said Ulquiorra simply, never breaking his distant expression.

"And the ryoka and his friends? How certain are you that they will not interfere?"

"We have successfully found a way to distract them, they are all too involved in their personal affairs to see our attack coming. The only one in the way is Byakuya Kuchiki, but he alone cannot stop us all, even the other captains and lieutenants are too preoccupied searching for the missing human and mod soul," said Ulquiorra.

"Very well then, it seems we will be having Kuchiki Rukia in our bed tomorrow night won't we?" Said the leading cloaked figure to the other.

"I'm looking forward to it, I did always have my sights on her," smirked the other.

"And Ulquiorra, for being so obedient and well-behaved…you may have a taste of her charms again too," said the leading cloaked figure; Ulquiorra nodded and smirked once before leaving.

* * *

_February 14th_

Ichigo was with Orihime sitting outside of the school under a tree; groups of adoring girls giggled as they looked at them. A lot had happened during the past month. Ichigo and Orihime had successfully fooled the rest of the school and their friends into believing that they were dating, they held hands and embraced, though they never kissed. Rukia pretended not to mind, though Ichigo could tell there was something very wrong with her, she was different, she became cold and uncaring, and she hardly spoke to anyone else anymore, especially Ichigo who she seemed to even ignore. Half of their classmates already knew who the father of Rukia's child was, among these people were Chizuru and her group of female friends, and Keigo and Mizuiro had also been informed. Rukia made them promise not to tell anyone because her and Byakuya's "love" was a forbidden one, and if other school staff found out, he would lose his job. Ichigo could only laugh bitterly at the memory of how dramatic she was when explaining to them.

…

_"Kuchiki-san! So the father of your child is your own brother? How romantic!" Said Chizuru adoringly as she, a group of girls, and Keigo and Mizuiro all surrounded Rukia._

_"Yes, I know it is forbidden, but we love each other!" said Rukia overly dramatic._

_"How did it happen?" Asked one of the girls._

_"Well…" said Rukia at a loss for words for a minute; then she got her acting back in tact and cleared her throat before she spoke, "you see, nii-sama and I always had a very…special relationship, when I was little I thought it was perfectly normal for a brother and sister to act in such a way. I remember when I was five and he was already a teenager, we would take baths together and play doctor in the bathtub…we even slept in the same bed in nothing but our underwear," the group of girls gasped adoringly._

_"My parents died when I was nine, and nii-sama was left in charge of me, we kept on doing these things, and I was clueless that there was anything wrong with it. But it was not until last summer when I returned to him from Karakura, that something of such extremity happened. I was in my bed that night, and he rushed in the room like a madman; then he said: "Rukia, there is something you need to know, you were adopted, and you're not really my sister,"" said Rukia pretending to almost faint._

_"Oh poor Rukia," said one of the girls helping her stand._

_"And then what happened Kuchiki-san?" Asked Keigo a bit too interested._

_"And then, he took me, and I…I let him have his way with me," said Rukia faking a cry; the girls and Keigo covered her in embraces._

_"Oh poor Kuchiki-san, here, let me comfort you," said Chizuru stuffing Rukia's face in between her breasts; Rukia immediately pulled away._

_"But you must promise me not to tell anyone else about this, if the school staff finds out, nii-sama will lose his job, and then…then how would we provide for our_ _baby," said Rukia faking another cry._

_"Oh don't worry Kuchiki-san, we won't say a word!" said Keigo bursting into tears_.

…

Ichigo sighed and shook his head, he seemed to be more embarrassed about her little stunt than she was. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Orihime speaking to him.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She yelled in front of his face; Ichigo immediately jumped up startled.

"Wha…don't do that!" he said shocked.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun, I really am, it's just…you weren't answering me…"

"So what were you saying," said Ichigo indifferently.

"I'm starting to get really worried about Chad and Nova, it's been too long; I asked Rangiku and shiro-chan about it and they didn't want to tell me anything," said Orihime.

"Yes, I've been thinking a lot about that too, there's something strange going on, I can feel it," said Ichigo very seriously; they both stayed quiet for a moment thinking.

"I know! What if we ask Kuchiki-taicho, he might tell us something!" Said Orihime enthusiastically.

"Byakuya? I doubt it," said Ichigo bitterly.

"Come on Kurosaki-kun, let's at least try!" said Orihime cheerfully as she suddenly stood up and ran out of there, pulling Ichigo along.

* * *

When they entered the room they found Byakuya sitting behind his desk finishing off his paperwork, and Rukia sitting on a chair in front of him. Rukia looked surprised to see them while Byakuya looked at them with indifference. Rukia's womb had grown significantly in the last month, whereas before she hardly showed for a woman in her stage. It looked a bit odd, here was Rukia a very petite girl with a small frame, and a belly the size of a watermelon; she looked like a pregnant grade-schooler. It worried Ichigo sometimes, whether her small body was able to carry so much weight, the baby was getting very big very fast, but Rukia remained the same.

"Is there something you need Kurosaki?" Asked Byakuya surveying him rather coldly.

"Well actually, we came here because of me Kuchiki-sama, I wanted to ask you something," said Orihime timidly.

"Yes?"

"Well, I umm…I wanted to know if you know anything about Chad and Nova? They've been gone an awfully long time and you and the other captains are the ones…"

"That is classified information Miss Inoue; it is not something that concerns you, now you may leave, I have a lot of work to do," said Byakuya cutting her off; Orihime looked like she was about to cry.

"What do you mean it doesn't concern us? They're our friends of course it concerns us!" Said Ichigo furiously.

"Whether to inform you or not is not for me to decide, this investigation is being carefully surveyed by the other captains; we cannot afford for any reckless behavior to jeopardize this mission. Now if you care about your friends the wise thing for you to do is to stop being a naïve adolescent and understand that you are not needed at the moment," said Byakuya looking at him stoically before looking back down at his paperwork. Ichigo fought back the urge to kick his ass, be he eventually managed to calm down, and he and Orihime walked out of there.

"Nii-sama, do the other captains know what happened to Chad and Nova yet?" Asked Rukia. Byakuya stayed still for a moment; then he turned to look at her.

"Not yet, but I assure you, the other Captains are doing everything in their power to find them," said Byakuya; he gazed at her for a moment, and when he realized he had been staring at her a bit too long, he turned back to his paperwork.

* * *

"Uryuu are you almost finished?!" Asked Soi Fong exasperated, she was sitting on a couch in the living room waiting for Ishida to come down. It was eight at night and the party had started an hour ago. "honestly, isn't it supposed to be the other way around/" She muttered annoyed under her breath, "hurry up!"

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Ishida walking down the stairs; Soi Fong's jaw immediately dropped. The armor looked sinful on him, it was made of leather that clung skin tight to his abs, defining them and revealing them as surprisingly chiseled. The ancient warrior skirt that fell under the armor fell halfway down his thighs revealing long powerful legs. And his hair, instead of carrying it sleek and smooth like he always did, it was messy and untamed, making him look all that more irresistible.

"Umm…" she found herself at a loss for words, "we should probably leave now," she said standing up.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea," said Ishida, as he also had his share of eye candy, Soi Fong's toga was very revealing, it left everything from the small of her back and up completely uncovered, revealing her milky and impressively immaculate skin.

* * *

"Everything is ready then?" Asked a cloaked figure standing in a dark room.

"Yes sir," said the cloaked figure standing in front of him.

"Very well then, you know what to do."

* * *

Ichigo, Orihime, Hitsugaya, Renji, and Rangiku were all in Orihime's house. They sat around the table very quiet. Ichigo and Orihime looked at the three Shinigami expectantly while the other three looked quite uncertain.

"Please Shiro-chan, we need to know if you know anything about Chad and Nova," pleaded Orihime on the verge of tears.

"I don't think we can…" said Rangiku, but Ichigo cut her off.

"We won't storm after them if that's what you're thinking. This time, if the situation calls for it, I'm willing to wait and know just what we're up against," said Ichigo very seriously.

"It is not that we don't want to tell you Kurosaki, it's just…we haven't found them yet. We think we know what happened and who took them, but nothing is yet set in stone."

"What do you think happened Shiro-chan?" Asked Orihime.

"It's Hitsugaya-taicho…and, we believe they were kidnapped by Aizen," said Hitsugaya; both Ichigo and Orihime looked shocked.

"Kidnapped by Aizen?!" Exclaimed Orihime.

"Yes, we think it might have had something to do with Nova's knowledge of the new gigai models; he is after all a master of dimensions, and Chad, since they were both so close, we think he may have been involved too," said Rangiku.

"But why would they want him now, didn't they already use the gigais with the hidden dimensions?" Asked Ichigo.

"That's what we're not sure of; he may just want to use Nova for creating dimensions, he is very gifted after all," said Hitsugaya. Then suddenly, Ichigo froze, and everyone turned to look at him, concerned.

"What's up man?" Asked Renji curiously.

"Chad, I can sense his reiatsu," said Ichigo.

"Where?" Asked Orihime curiously; everyone else looked at him surprised.

"Wait, let me concentrate," said Ichigo; it took a moment for him sort through all the spirit ribbons that appeared around him, and then finally, he found it.

"Where Kurosaki?!" Asked Hitsugaya impatiently.

"In…in…Osaka," said Ichigo a bit confused.

"Osaka? But that must be over an hour away from here? How were you able to sense that?" Asked Rangiku surprised.

"I don't know, but I do know it's him," said Ichigo.

"Well then, let's move," said Hitsugaya; they all rushed out of Orihime's house.

* * *

"Nii-sama…!" mewled Rukia, she and Byakuya were in bed, she was covered by the blankets from the neck down, and Byakuya on top of her completely submerged inside the blankets. At the mention of him, Byakuya popped his head out from the covers and hovered over her. He was breathing heavily and covered in perspiration.

"Rukia…" he said gazing at her as he ran the back of his hand across her cheek.

"You should take a break, you've been at it for a while…" giggled Rukia, and the side of Byakuya's mouth quirked slightly upwards forming a slight smile.

"Resistance is required of a Kuchiki, and if Hideto is to be strong enough to earn my title, then I must put it to use now and transfer some of my spiritual energy to him," said Byakuya looking at her very seriously, but she knew him well enough now to know he was joking, and let out a resounding laughter.

"I know, but I'm hungry, I haven't had a bite to eat since it dawned on you to make our baby stronger," said Rukia.

"Very well then," said Byakuya; he gave her a chaste kiss on the lips and got out of bed. Rukia watched him in wonder as he walked over to the closet clad in his boxers. He turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow when he noticed her ogling him.

"I'm sorry nii-sama," said Rukia turning away from him embarrassed; Byakuya just smirked and proceeded to look for his night robe inside the closet; once he found it he put it on and tied the sash around his waist.

Rukia also got out of bed; she was wearing a spaghetti strapped cotton nightshirt that fell halfway down her thighs. She searched the bed for something, and when she didn't find it she scanned the floor for it; then she walked over to Byakuya and stood in front of him.

"Have you seen my…" Rukia stopped when Byakuya handed her a pair of panties.

"They were on the table lamp this time," said Byakuya in such a stoic tone that it almost made her laugh.

* * *

Ishida and Soi Fong arrived to the party to find a spin-the-bottle-fest. There must have been over two hundred people at that party, and over thirty playing spin the bottle, so he considered it strange that the past ten times the bottle had landed on Soi Fong; she had now successfully kissed one-third of the people in that room. Now it was her turn to spin…again.

Ishida watched the bottle spin and as he did, he felt dizzy, he and Soi had both had a couple of drinks, but not enough to feel this…odd, he not only felt dizzy and obviously drunk, but he felt strangely soft and…warm.

"Ha! Uryuu-kun has to kiss Soi-chan!" exclaimed Yukina. Ishida looked at Soi Fong through hooded eyes before Soi threw herself at him and kissed him passionately in front of all the people in the group. She showed no signs of stopping, and truth be told, he didn't want her to stop. She was lying on top of him Frenching him as he held a firm grasp on her butt.

"Damn just get a room!" complained one of the guys in the circle.

"No one was speaking to you…you…you ungrateful human," said Soi Fong too drunk to think of another comeback.

"Well you might as well dammit, you're making Angelina Jolie's and Billy Bob Thornton's PDA look like child's play," said the guy who was obviously also very drunk.

"You know what, since you insist, I think we will, now excuse us," said Ishida; he and Soi Fong stood up and went inside the nearest empty room.

Once they left, Christine and Yukina walked outside; the guy who had screamed at Soi and Ishida to get a room followed closely after them.

"Well, finally, I knew those two would fall to temptation eventually," said the red-head Christine; then a spirit exit that body, revealing Christine to really be Espada number eight Szayel Aporro.

"Ha ha! Yeah, stupid shinigami and Quincy," laughed Yukina; then a spirit exit the body revealing it to be Nnoitra Jiruga.

"Let's get to work then," said the guy that followed after them; once exciting the body he revealed himself to be Ulquiorra.

* * *

Ichigo, Orihime, Renji, Hitsugaya, and Rangiku arrived to a park in Osaka; with flash step they managed to get there in forty minutes; Ichigo carried Orihime to make their trip quicker. Once there, they found Chad and Nova lying unconscious on a baseball field. They rushed to them quickly, and Orihime began to heal them.

Ichigo sat there watching as Orihime, then his eyes found a letter lying on the floor next to Chad. Ichigo grabbed the letter and opened it. Once he read the letter, his eyes widened, and he ripped the letter into pieces looking very upset.

"What's wrong Ichigo?" Asked Rangiku.

"This…this…was just a distraction, they took Chad and Nova to…to drive us away from her," said Ichigo through gritted teeth.

"Drive us away from who?" Asked Renji fearfully, practically already knowing the answer.

"From Rukia…"

* * *

Rukia and Byakuya were in the living room watching a the movie House of a 1,000 Corpses on television. Byakuya was sitting down on the couch and Rukia was lying down with her head on his lap and a pint of pistachio ice cream on her stomach.

"Cool," she said licking some of the ice cream on her spoon as one of the guys in the movie was being tortured on a bed with various maniacal devices.

"The blood does not nauseate you anymore?" Asked Byakuya surprised.

"Of course not I…wait, I take that back," said Rukia suddenly standing up and running to the restroom; Byakuya sighed exasperated. Suddenly the doorbell rang, and he walked over to it and looked through the peephole.

"What is she doing here at this time, did I not tell her I do not tutor?" Said Byakuya a bit irritated before he opened the door.

* * *

Rukia washed her face and got out of the bathroom, how she hated vomiting, it was the one thing she had not yet grown used to about her pregnancy. She walked into the living room and found it strange that Byakuya was not there.

"Nii-sama?" She said looking for him through the house, "nii-sama?"

She looked everywhere and could not find him. 'Where could he be?' she thought. Then she walked outside, the night was a bit chilly and she rubbed her arms with her hands at the sudden cold. Outside there was a new moon, and everything was perfectly lit. there was a park in front of her house, and she walked over to it, wondering if he was there.

"Nii-sama?" Called Rukia, now standing in the middle of a basketball court.

"How adorable, coming to your breeding partner's aid, although I have to admit, I never thought you'd be one to commit incest," came a voice from behind. Rukia recognized that voice; she turned around quickly; when she turned she found herself face to face with him, his face only an inch from hers, his eerie grin never faltering.

"Gin Ichimaru…" gasped Rukia looking very disturbed.

"Yes, my dear Rukia, it's me, I came back for ya," he said; for a moment she was able to see the evil glint in his eyes.

"Where's nii-sama?!"

"Ya still call him that? How fascinating. It doesn't bother ya that she still calls you that Captain Kuchiki?" Said Gin stepping to the side so that Rukia was able to see.

Rukia gasped in horror when she saw Byakuya lying on the floor drained of spiritual energy, almost unconscious; Ulquiorra, Szayel, and Nnoitra were standing around him.

"What did you do to him?!" Asked Rukia infuriated punching him, but Gin immediately grabbed a hold of her and turned her so that her back was pressed against his chest, one arm tightly around her neck and a hand over her grown belly.

"Now now, you wouldn't want the little prince to get hurt would ya, Byakuya would never forgive you then, would he?" whispered Gin in her ear; Rukia's eyes widened at the realization that she was powerless, "now be a good mommy and do as uncle Gin says," said Gin licking the side of her neck.

"Let go of her," said Byakuya through gritted teeth barely mustering enough strength to look up at Gin and glare at him.

"You are in position to tell me what to do Captain Kuchiki, don't ya see? The life of your pup and your little sex kitten are in my hands…I'd be nice if I were you," said Gin. Byakuya tried to get up but to no avail, he was much too weak.

"Don't worry captain, I won't hurt them, not yet at least, you have until the child's birth to decide whether you will give us what we want or not."

"What do you want?!" Asked Byakuya bitterly.

"The key, the key that will magically appear before you upon the birth of your child, give us the key, give us reign over soul society…and these two won't be harmed, ya get it? Of course, I can't promise ya that we won't have some fun with your little sister and temporarily take some of your pup's power."

"You imbecile!" yelled Byakuya; Ulquiorra kicked him in the ribs. Gin smirked and then ran his hand along Rukia's stomach examining it.

"My my, captain Kuchiki who would have thought…this child is so strong, you've been a busy boy haven't you?" Smirked Gin; Byakuya only glared at him.

* * *

Ichigo ran as quickly as he could, but even flash step did not seem to get him where he wanted as quickly as he wished. Renji and Hitsugaya followed closely after him; Orihime and Rangiku had stayed behind healing Chad and Nova.

"Up ahead!" Said Ichigo spotting Byakuya lying on a basketball court. Ichigo immediately rushed to Byakuya's side and was dismayed to find him in such a weak state, he was barely even able to speak.

"Where is she Byakuya?! Where's Rukia?"

"They took her, you must find her Kurosaki, you must save her…save my child," said Byakuya weakly; then he passed out.

"Where did they take her?! Where did they take Rukia?!" Asked Ichigo shaking him anxiously.

"Stop Ichigo, we must take him to Urahara's right away, and call captain Ukitake," said Hitsugaya.

* * *

"He'll be fine, there were no wounds; he'll be up again in the morning," said Urahara walking into the living room; Ichigo, Renji, Ukitake, and Hitsugaya were already there, sitting.

"What did they do to him?" Asked Renji.

"I don't know, they must have used some kind of device to drain his spiritual energy without causing any physical damage, they must want him alive," said Urahara scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Did he manage to tell you anything before fainting Ichigo?" Asked Ukitake; Ichigo shook his head, he still seemed distressed about the whole situation, "we'll have to wait till tomorrow to act then."

"The entire time, they've been surveying us, watching our moves," said Ukitake a bit troubled.

"Yeah, and they've been regarding you as puppets, you did everything the exact same way they predicted you would," said Urahara taking a sip of some of his tea that had been lying on the table.

"Yes, we acted very foolish," said Hitsugaya looking very disappointed; then their eyes all fixed on an agitated Rangiku that ran inside the room.

"What happened lieutenant?" Asked Ukitake concerned.

"The-they've taken Orihime,…Grimm…Grimmjaw" said Rangiku out of breath; the others looked shocked.

"Another mission to Hueco Mundo it seems…will be most definitely inevitable," said Ukitake.


	16. Chapter 16

All right, well I'm 75 percent positive that this story will conclude three chapters from now, hopefully I won't disappoint!

Well here's Ch. 16, enjoy!

* * *

It was wet, the ground beneath her was moist and she could feel dirt under her palms. It was cold, very cold, so much that in her half conscious state she embraced herself, hoping to benefit from her own body heat. She was tired, too tired, perhaps she would sleep, sleep and find this gloomy place to be part of only a dream. Just as she began to drift into a world of dreams, a piercing scream disturbed her slumber.

"Kuchiki-san!" Rukia's eyes immediately widened, and she sat up on the dirt floor. She looked around; they were in an empty cave, there were no visible openings whatsoever, only a door along one of the walls, but that door was obviously locked. The cave was lighted by various torches, and there was a tank of water on one corner of the cave.

"Kuchiki-san, are you alright, you've been like this for hours, I healed you but you still wouldn't wake up," said Orihime tear-eyed as she kneeled next to her petite companion.

"I'm fine Inoue, thank you, I was only sleeping," said Rukia yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, in that case Kuchiki-san you should go back to sleep," said Orihime apologetically.

"I'm fine Inoue. Where are we; why are you also here?"

"We're somewhere in Hueco Mundo, you were brought here by Ichimaru and Ulquiorra; I was brought by Grimmjaw; he only told me I was here to heal you whenever you needed it," said Orihime looking a bit depressed; then she smiled, "but I'm glad to be here and keep you company Kuchiki-san!"

"Thank you Orihime, those are very sweet thoughts. Now maybe I can find a way to break down that door with ki-"

"Do not even attempt to do such a silly thing Miss Kuchiki, did you really think I'd confine you in a place I knew you could escape from. That door is kido-proof," said Aizen walking through the door with Gin, Ulquiorra, and Grimmjaw.

"Aizen," said Rukia; her eyes widened in fear.

"Yes Kuchiki-san, long time no see," smiled Aizen evilly; he approached Rukia and forced her to stand by merely staring at her. "Now then, let's see how our little prince is doing," said Aizen placing his hand on Rukia's stomach; he opened his eyes again and smirked satisfied, "perfect."

"Delicious reiatsu isn't it Aizen-sama?" Asked Gin with his plastered smile.

"Yes, it is, now then, who should go first? Ulquiorra, since you were the one to discover how to take the prince's power the last time, why don't you demonstrate, oh and…be gentle," said Aizen stepping away from Rukia and walking next to Gin.

Ulquiorra obeyed and walked towards Rukia, he stood in front of her for a moment; every step she took back he took forward. He finally grabbed her by the waist and pressed her body against his.

"Leave Kuchiki-san alone!" Exclaimed Orihime; irritated, Aizen sent her crashing against the wall; Orihime remained there, conscious but immobile. Ulquiorra proceeded by forcing a kiss on her.

"So do I get a taste also Aizen?" Asked Grimmjaw watching Ulquiorra's assaults on Rukia fascinated.

"Your behavior has been questionable, you've been unwittingly feeding information to the enemy; I will not punish you for this, but you cannot have a taste of the prince's reiatsu. You may however take the, healer, just do not harm her too much, we will need her to regenerate our prince's powers," said Aizen.

"Fine, something's something," said Grimmjaw approaching Orihime; she tried to fight back, but he pinned her against the wall.

* * *

"You mean to tell me that Christina and Yukina were Szayel Aporro and Nnoitra Jiruga?" Asked Ishida beginning to turn a bit blue. Ichigo, Byakuya, Renji, Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Urahara, Soi Fong, Ukitake, Chad, Nova, and Ishida were all sitting inside Urahara's shop having morning tea.

"Yes, why?" Asked Ichigo curiously.

"Because they…I, will you excuse me for a moment?" Said Ishida walking out of the room.

"Well now we also have Orihime to worry about; I still can't imagine why they took her as well," said Rangiku.

"Orihime?" Asked Ishida popping his head into the room and walking inside.

"Yes, they took her after she finished healing Chad and Nova," said Ichigo.

"And there's still the question of where they took them; Nova here mentioned that while he and Chad were captive, Aizen forced them to create mixed dimensions," said Ukitake.

"Mixed dimensions?" Asked Ichigo confused.

"Yes, you see, most dimensions stand next to or across each other; it is all very symmetrical. But mixed dimensions cut through each other randomly; there is no telling where one ends and another begins, they rotate constantly, therefore the entrance you came through would no longer be the same entrance. It is a moving four dimensional labyrinth, where the rules of time and space no longer apply," said Nova.

"Meaning that we do not know what type of environments we will be encountering while searching for the one Rukia and Orihime are in; anything is possible, no gravity, upside down worlds, time portals that could carry us to any given era, anything," said Ukitake.

"Are Rukia and Orihime safe?" Asked Ishida worriedly.

"Yes, the dimension we created for them is in the center and remains constant, it never changes; the only different thing about it is the time, a day here is a month there. The other dimensions travel around it and change in the period of one day. There is however, a safe route from the center dimension to Hueco Mundo; it was designed for Aizen to safely travel back and forth, though only Aizen knows where it is located," said Nova.

"Are there any other ways to come across that path without knowing the specific location?" Asked Hitsugaya.

"Yes, as the dimensions are spinning, they come across the bridge dimension; lookout for a violet light in the sky and slash at it with your zanpakutos; that should put you in the secure path to where Rukia and Orihime are," said Nova.

"How many dimensions are there?" Asked Renji.

"Many, though there are only four entry dimensions from Hueco Mundo, North, South, East, and West. Once you are in a dimension you can travel to another one when you see a yellow streak in the sky, and pierce it with your zanpakuto," said Nova.

"Very well then, any questions?" Asked Ukitake; everybody remained silent, "we will need to split up into groups of four, Ashido and Nel will also be joining you, while I will be staying behind to inform the captains if anything goes wrong. Lieutenant Rangiku, Captain Hitsugaya, and Nova, you will be taking the eastern dimension. Lieutenant Abarai, Captain Soi Fong, and Ishida, you will be taking the western dimension. Captain Byakuya, Chad, and Nel, you will be taking the Northern dimension, and Ichigo you and Ashido will be taking the Southern dimension," said Ukitake; they all nodded, "very well then, gather your things, we will be leaving to Hueco Mundo in two hours.

* * *

Rukia was sitting on the bed bruised and tired; Aizen had finally brought the two girls beds since Rukia had grown significantly bigger. Orihime, who also had a bloody lip, looked over at Rukia; then she kneeled in front of her and proceeded to heal her.

"How long have we been here?" Asked Rukia once Orihime finished healing her.

"A month Kuchiki-san," said Orihime.

"It feels like it's been longer," said Rukia; she combed Orihime's bangs to the back of her ear and then performed healing kidou on Orihime's bloody lip to heal it.

"Hideto-chan has been good though, he's a strong little baby," said Orihime looking down at Rukia's stomach.

"Yes, seven months, two to go," sighed Rukia. '_Hold on tight there little one,'_ thought Rukia placing a hand on her stomach.

"So, how was it?" Asked Orihime suddenly sitting beside her on the bed.

"How was what?" Asked Rukia confused.

"Your first time with Byakuya-sama," said Orihime lying back on the bed and sighing.

"Wha…Orihime, that's too personal," said Rukia blushing furiously.

"Oh come on, I bet it was awkward wasn't it? It was for me," said Orihime sitting up.

"You mean…you and Ichigo?" Asked Rukia sadly.

"No of course not, Uryuu Ishida," giggled Orihime as she blushed.

"You and Ishida?! When did this happen?" Asked Rukia surprised.

"Well, I'll tell you but you have to promise not to tell anyone," said Orihime; Rukia nodded, "well, we started dating when we came back from soul society, it was towards the end of December that we…you know, did it, but I left him after that," said Orihime sadly.

"Really? Why?"

"I don't know, I felt very uncomfortable about it; that's why I asked Ichigo to pretend he was my boyfriend, so Uryuu would leave me alone," said Orihime in the same melancholic tone.

"You mean you and Ichigo aren't really…?" Asked Rukia attempting to hide her joy at this.

"Nope, he loves _you_ Kuchiki-san, he always has," said Orihime; they remained quiet as Rukia tried to rid of the blush on her cheeks.

"So, how was it with Ishida?" Asked Rukia teasingly, clearly not expecting her to answer.

"Well, it was very good, it hurt a little bit at first though," said Orihime scratching her head as she remembered; Rukia almost fell over at this.

"What's wrong Kuchiki-san? Why do you look so uncomfortable?"

"Well…you see Inoue, I wasn't expecting you to answer," said Rukia sheepishly.

"Really? Well…now you have to tell me about your first time," said Orihime looking at her very anxiously.

"Well," sighed Rukia trying to put what she was about to say into words, "you know those rumors among the women back in Sereitei about nii-sama?" Asked Rukia; Orihime nodded, "well, they're true."

"Oh poor Kuchiki-san, your first time must have been really painful, you're so little and if his...is as big as-" but Rukia cut her short by placing a hand on her mouth.

"Don't say that," said Rukia going three shades of red.

"All right," said Orihime.

"Hey Inoue, do you umm…you still have feelings for Ishida don't you?" Asked Rukia; Orihime looked away thereby answering her question, "then why did you leave him?"

"I'm not sure, but if I could…I would correct my mistake. And you Kuchiki-san, you don't have feelings for Kurosaki-kun anymore?" Rukia remained quiet for a while, but then she looked back at Orihime.

"Well, if I did it doesn't matter, all that matters is my baby now, and it would be best for him if I stayed with nii-sama," said Rukia sadly.

"But…you still love Kurosaki-kun don't you?"

"Well…I…yes , I do, and I'm sure he knows that."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N**: All right, so I've finally broken out of that horrid writer's block, thank you very much for helping me! So the results were in, and it would be best if I had a little bit of everything.

**BTW** Since we have characters going into different dimensions, there will be some mild crossovers...therefore...**I do not own Lord of The Rings or Blood Plus!**

so **Ch. 17**, Enjoy! And let me know what you think!

* * *

Byakuya, Chad and the child version of Nel walked through a snowy mountain range during the ice age. A blizzard hit them with full force and they were forced to retire inside a cave. They each rolled out their sleeping mats and sat around a fire. Chad was silent as always, and Byakuya wasn't much of a talker himself; Nel looked at the two men a bit irritated.

"Well talk, say something! Seriously, why'd I get stuck with the silent giant and the stuck up prim?" Byakuya said nothing but merely looked up momentarily from his hot cup of tea to glare at her.

"We have nothing to say to you," he said stoically.

"What'd ya mean there's nothing to say? There's lots to say, dontcha have feelings? Your girl and your baby were just kidnapped, don't you have something to say about that?!"

"Whatever my view is on the given events it does not concern you," said Byakuya indifferently; he stood up, "I will be inspecting the cave now, excuse me," he said, and with that he left.

"Seriously, what's up with that guy? I mean yeah he's gorgeous and all but he's as cold as this blizzard. "Rukia should've denied this guy and stayed with my Itzugo. Sure he might not be as pretty, but dammit he makes up for it with courage and one heck of a personality," said Nel; then she sighed and batted her eyelashes, "ah, Itzugo…"

…

Byakuya slammed his fist against one of the walls of the cave as he rested his head on that same wall trying to keep himself from weeping. He was frustrated and furious with himself, he was unable to protect her; if only he had been able to see who those two girls truly were…then none of this would have happened. How dare that woman even assume that he did not care, how dare that thought even cross her mind. Rukia and his child were everything to him, they were his family, the closest he ever came to having a true home.

Slowly he regained his composure and then walked over to a hot spring inside the cave, he removed his clothing and sat inside of it. The hot water relaxed his muscles and he leaned back with his eyes closed. Once finished he got up and started drying his hair with the towel; for all his sharp senses he did not see the green-haired menace that was walking by.

Nel's jaw dropped at the sight of Captain Byakuya Kuchiki in all his naked glory. She eyed him up and down slowly before he opened his eyes and realized that she was in front of him; he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist.

"All right, so maybe Rukia wasn't as delusional as I thought to stay with you," said Nel still in the aftershock of seeing the nude manifestation of male perfection right in front of her.

* * *

"Yo Soi Fong-taicho!" Said Renji waving a hand in front of her; Soi Fong snapped out of her daydream.

"What is it Abarai?" She asked, at the moment they were hiding inside an abandoned horse barn. The floor was covered in hay and there were many farming tools.

"Ishida's coming already," said Renji; they both looked out the barn window and saw Ishida approaching; he had a bag in one hand and was wearing an odd-looking getup with a strange hat.

He walked inside and sat in front of them on the hay; without saying anything he dropped the bag he was carrying.

"What is it?"

"We're in 1692 Salem," said Ishida looking a bit intimidated.

"So?" Said Renji.

"You don't understand, this is during the Salem witch trial, they killed anyone that they deemed immoral or indecent," said Ishida.

"Well we're decent enough," said Renji; Ishida looked as Renji's spiky red hair and funky eyebrows; then at Soi Fong's very…exposed combat uniform.

"Well I brought you some clothes just in case," said Ishida.

"What does it matter, they are no match for us," said Soi Fong beginning to grow annoyed.

"Yes, but you see, the way Nova described it, we've actually gone back in time. So if we do anything out of normalcy we may alter our own history," said Ishida, "we're going to be staying here until we see a yellow or violet streak in the sky, meaning we will have to fit in as best as we can while we're here."

"Fine," sighed Soi Fong; Ishida handed them their clothing. Soi Fong held it up and raised and eyebrow as she surveyed the clothing, "How do you put this on?" Ishida looked over at Renji bashfully; Renji snickered and walked outside.

"All right, have fun children," he teased; then disappeared completely.

"You look kind of cute with that hat," said Soi Fong wrapping her arms around his neck and brushing her lips against his without kissing him.

"Really?" Asked Ishida getting a bit worked up.

"Yes, really," she whispered in his ear and then sucked on his earlobe; he audibly gulped; then she stepped away from him to look at him, "listen Quincy…" she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly; his eyes softened when he heard her sobbing, "I …you're mine now. I order you to not leave me for her. Is that clear?" She said looking him seriously in the face; he wiped away her tears and smiled kindly.

"Yes, very clear my captain," he said patting her on the head; she smiled at him bashfully. Then she was the one taken by surprise when he untied her black combat suit and slid it off her body; his hands running along the skin he exposed.

"Now let me show you how this dress goes."

* * *

"Senbonzakura?" Asked Byakuya startled, feeling the presence close by, he was sitting away from the others in a part of the cave with an opening that gave a good view of the night sky. It was very cold, and he sat next to a fire.

"Yes my dear Bya-kun, it is I," said the voice; then a beautiful woman stepped in from the shadows. She had long wavy red hair, smooth ivory skin, and cold violet eyes. She wore an elegant violet kimono that matched her eyes. Her body bathed radiantly in the moon rays, making her ivory skin look smooth and milky. They both remained silent for as moment; Byakuya stood up and took a step towards her.

Out of curiosity he stretched his hand towards her face, and outlined her features lightly with his fingertips. He wanted to know if she was real, if this wasn't just another illusion; her skin was soft, warm, and very real. Senbonzakura smiled and closed her eyes as she leaned into his touch; leaving the notion that he had done this to her before, and just as in the past, she enjoyed it.

"You're real," he said surprised, and she nodded, "how did you…?"

"Materialize? The stronger you become the stronger I become; it will not be long until I can materialize whenever I please," said Senbonzakura.

"This means…" said Byakuya pondering in his thoughts.

"Yes Bya-kun," said Senbonzakura walking closer to him; Byakuya took a step back.

"No, Rukia and I…"

"Rukia and you what? I was the one that chose her remember? Her and Hisana. Little Bya-kun," said Senbonzakura drawing closer to him; then she caressed his cheek, her hand and voice brimming with warmth and tenderness, "remember the first time we met, when you were a little boy? Remember what you said to me?"

"It was impossible then, and it is impossible now, Senbonzakura," said Byakuya pulling away.

"I was also once a soul, I was once living, blood once ran through my veins. I was the powerful and beautiful warrior Senbonzakura," said Senbonzakura suddenly growing frantic, "that was soon taken from me, I died very young, and refusing to die I vowed to live on through the one who managed to wield my zanpakuto…" they both remained silent for a moment; Byakuya looked away unable to meet her gaze. "You were so reliant on me for company. But I knew you needed human interaction, you were and still are a lonely soul; I found a pure and lonely woman to become your mate; it was I that made you fall in love with Hisana. I was also the one that chose Rukia for you."

"You are wrong Senbonzakura. I chose them, and just like I made my choice then, I will do it again by choosing Rukia and my child," said Byakuya very seriously Senbonzakura looked hurt for a moment, but then she regained her composure and stood up a bit more straight.

"Is that what would make you happy?"

"Yes," answered Byakuya coldly.

"Very well then, I will respect your choice. If Rukia can bring back the sun… that alone would appease me," said Senbonzakura; then she disappeared into thin air. For a moment Byakuya considered stopping her from leaving, but then quickly put that thought aside and ignored it.

'_Our world seemed so much brighter back then Bya-kun…I miss the sun…and the smell of cherry blossoms…'_

* * *

Dawn was approaching, and Ichigo and Ashido were sitting somewhere in the jungle of the Mesozoic era. Ashido was sleeping as Ichigo drank coffee and looked at the sky. Suddenly, he saw a yellow streak; he jumped up and shook Ashido awake.

"A streak, come on, let's jump to the other dimension," Ichigo pointed his zanpakuto at the sky and screamed, "Getsuga Tensho!" The attack ripped through the sky and the two shinigami were sucked into the sky by a yellow light.

* * *

"Matsumoto, do you have any idea where we might be?" Asked Hitsugaya as he and Rangiku walked by through a mountain range of lush forests.

"No, but it's a very nice place though," said Matsumoto, as she observed a beautiful waterfall, "look, there's a town there, maybe we should check it out taicho.

Hitsugaya nodded and they set out towards the town. The town in the middle of the mountains was breath-taking. It was surrounded by cascades and lush with greenery. The buildings themselves appeared ancient, but nevertheless very elegant and stable.

They crossed a bridge, where they were suddenly stopped by two guards. They wore armor and had pointed ears. Their weapons consisted of arrows and a sword. They looked at Hitsugaya and Rangiku up and down; one of them ogled Rangiku and the other guard had to smack him to get him to snap out of it.

"I see, a daughter of man, and a hobbit. If you are looking for Frodo we must inform you that he is still recuperating from his run in with the Nazgul, our lady Arwen brought him quickly, but he is still in critical condition."

"Well we're not-"

"If you're not with the hobbit then we will find ourselves in the predicament of executing you…just as we do with all who trespass Rivendell," interrupted one of the guards.

"All right then, take us to see Frodo," said Hitsugaya not knowing what other route to take. The guards nodded, and Rangiku and Hitsugaya followed behind them.

"Captain, should we really be doing this?" Whispered Rangiku to Hitsugaya.

"We do not know where we are or what we're up against; we must avoid a violent confrontation at all costs; we will only draw our zanpakutos when there is and ultimate need for them," whispered Hitsugaya in response; Rangiku nodded.

* * *

Ichigo and Ashido landed on their rears with a loud thump; they both stood and gingerly rubbed their behinds. They both looked around to find that they were in a jungle; there was the sound of gunfire and screaming through the distance. They both looked at each other and nodded before they ran towards the commotion. They were only here to rescue Rukia and Orihime, but were also determined to save as many lives as possible if need be.

They arrived to a small Vietnamese village, many of the inhabitants were running terrified towards the forest..

"Where are we?" Said Ichigo, then when he turned to the side he was taken by surprise as a man charged towards him; he seemed to have a knife for a and.

"Move!" He shouted; Ichigo and Ashido moved obediently; then when they turned they saw the man block the attack of a disheveled-looking woman covered in blood, blood that very apparently was not her own. There was something odd about the fight though, even though the man was blocking her attacks, Ichigo also noted, that he avoided hurting her; she however, was enraged, her red eyes glowed dangerously.

"Let's help him," said Ichigo.

"No, we're not supposed to interfere with the events of any given time, besides, he seemed to be handling her well enough," said Ashido. Ichigo watched as the woman cut off the man's hand with her sword, and that was all it took, he stood up and readied himself to help the man.

"Bakudo number sixty-three _sajō sabaku,_" said Ichigo pointing two fingers at the woman; she was restrained with a thick chain from the neck down; she fell to the floor and thrashed around but wasn't able to get herself free. Ashido looked at him surprised.

"Rukia taught me that," said Ichigo; then they both rushed towards the man.

"Are you all right?" Asked Ichigo; he was however surprised to see that he was no longer bleeding, the hand was still gone though.

"It will heal soon enough, thank you," said the man, "come, I will provide you with proper nourishment as a token of my gratitude," said the man; he easily flung the woman over his shoulder.

"You're not leaving her here?" Asked Ichigo surprised.

"My queen? Of course not. My name is Haji by the way," said Haji shaking their hands with the hand that was still there.

* * *

Byakuya, Chad, and Nel stood up dusting off their clothes. They had just crossed into a different dimension. Nel jumped in joy as she took in the beautiful sight before them. They were in a forest in the middle of the mountains. There was a beautiful town in the distance, a gorgeous town surrounded by cascades.

Byakuya looked at the town, surveying it carefully; then Nel could have sworn she saw the man smile for a fraction of a second.

"It seems that Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Rangiku are there, and they seem unharmed," said Byakuya.

"Let's go then, let's lil Shiro and pretty lady Masumogo so we can go look for Itzugo!" Said Nel happily; Chad looked at Byakuya and nodded. The three of them set off into the town.

* * *

"So then, you and Saya fight these things call Chiropterans?" Asked Ichigo; Haji nodded. They were sitting around a fire just outside of a small hut. The sun was beginning to set and the air was getting chilly.

"And you? You do not appear to be average humans," said HajI.

"No, we're shinigami," said Ichigo.

"You mean you're…death gods?" Asked HajI surprised.

"Well, technically I'm only a substitute shinigami; Ashido here is the official thing," said Ichigo.

"What brings you here?"

"We're looking for two of our friends that were kidnapped. We're traveling through a series of dimensions, and have no real control over which ones we enter," said Ichigo.

"I see," said Haji, "would you like for me to help you?" Asked Haji.

"We cannot guarantee that you will be able to return to this time in space, stay here and guard your woman well," said Ashido; a faint blush came over Haji's cheeks but he quickly brushed it aside; then he looked at Ashido and nodded.

* * *

"I didn't know that Mr. Frodo had foreign friends," said Sam to Hitsugaya; Hitsugaya and Rangiku were sitting outside with Sam and two other hobbits names Pip and Mary.

"Yes, we met a while back ago," said Hitsugaya making it up as he went.

"Well you have a cute girlfriend," there," said Pip ogling Rangiku; a nerve popped on the side of Rangiku's forehead.

"I'm not his girlfriend."

A commotion was heard from the distance. And Hitsugaya's eyes widened at sensing the familiar reiatsus. He and Rangiku ran over there leaving a three confused hobbits behind.

* * *

"All Nel says was hi," said little Nel as she stepped over the body of a man who she had just knocked out unconscious a couple of moments earlier.

"That thing! What is it?! Are you an Orc?!" Asked one of the guards panicking. He gave a loud whistle. And in a matter of seconds they were surrounded by heavily armed elves.

"Kuchiki-taicho!" Came a voice from behind the guards; Hitsugaya and Rangiku squeezed through the guards and joined the others in the center.

"Captain Hitsugaya, I see you have finally chosen to stop playing with these characters," said Byakuya coldly.

"Nice to see you too Byakuya," said Rangiku bitterly; Hitsugaya gave her a look that told her to let it go.

"We tried avoiding violence by all means necessary," said Hitsugaya.

"Well it's too late for that now isn't it?" Said Rangiku pointing out to the guards that surrounded them with pointed arrows.

Byakuya looked up at the sky for a second and saw a yellow streak in the sky; he smirked. He lifted his zanpakuto and whispered, "scatter." in a matter of seconds they disappeared from the presence of the guards who could only look at each other confused.

* * *

Ichigo, Ashido and Haji were still sitting outside. Ichigo sighed as he looked at the sky, the last rays of the sun disappearing into the horizon. '_I hope we're not too late_,' thought Ichigo.

As if on cue, a violet streak appeared in the sky, and Ichigo jumped up immediately, a giant smile plastered on his face. Ashido immediately stood up and looked at the sky as well; then they both looked at Haji.

"Well, thank you for everything, but we need to go now. Take care of your girl, I need to take care of mine," said Ichigo; Haji nodded with an agreeing smile, a silent understanding between two men that protected the women they loved. Ichigo pointed his zanpakuto at the sky and then screamed, "Getsuga Tensho!"

* * *

Ichigo and Ashido were sucked into a black hall that seemed to be in outer space. At the end of the hall there was a light, and they ran towards it as quickly as possible. Once arriving to the center dimension, they looked around to find a simple suburban house; it was the only thing around.

They entered the building and found that the inside of the house was actually a cave, a very big cave. There was a long hall leading towards a scarlet door; Ichigo immediately dashed towards it and Ashido followed after him.

"Kurosaki-kun!" screamed Orihime as soon as Ichigo came in through the door; Ichigo looked at her fearfully. She was sitting next to Rukia who was lying on the bed consumed in pain.

"Kurosaki-kun it's time! Kuchiki-san has gone into labor," said Orihime, "I've never been in this situation before, I don't know what to do, she's in a lot of pain," said Orihime.

Ichigo didn't say anything, there was a very serious look on his face as he walked towards the bed. He shook Rukia gently until she looked at him.

"Ichigo?" She asked surprised; she didn't seem to grasp the idea that he was really there, "is that you?" he nodded.

"Listen to me Rukia, we need to get out of here, I need you to be strong," he said; Rukia looked at him for a moment and then nodded.

Ichigo lifted her off the bed and she held in a scream; every little movement was painful to her. Once picking her up, Ichigo handed her to Ashido. Ashido compiled and carried her in his arms. Orihime's eyes then widened when she sense a familiar reiatsu.

"Kurosaki-kun, Aizen, he's coming!"

"All right, let's see," said Ichigo looking around; he knew they couldn't leave the same way they came in anymore. Then a thought struck him, they were in the center, so no matter where he slashed with his zanpakuto, it should take them to another dimension. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw little specks of yellow that were barely visible all around the cave walls.

"Ashido, make sure Rukia doesn't get hurt in the landing," said Ichigo; Ashido nodded. "Here we go. Getsuga Tencho!"

* * *

Aizen and Gin sensed that unmistakable reiatsu. '_Kurosaki_!' thought Aizen alarmed as he and Gin shunpoed down the hall and into Rukia's and Orihime's room. When they got there the dimension they had gone through closed and swirled around with the others so that it was not apparent which of those dimensions they had gone through.

"They escaped Aizen-sama," said Gin.

"No worries, we'll find them. It'll just be more fun now, this has just gotten very interesting," smirked Aizen.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Hello!

Okay, well personally I consider this to be a cute chapter. **BTW**, I don't own Inuyasha.

I was going to make this chapter longer to wrap this story up in the next chapter, but it didn't feel right, I'll leave the fighting till next time, and the finale for Ch. 20! Yay an even number!

Well without further delays...CHAPTER 18.

Enjoy and let me know what you think! :)

Oh, and I'll be updating much sooner.

* * *

Ichigo, Rukia, and Orihime were in the house of a miko named Kaede; Ichigo could assume by their surroundings that they were in Japan's Sengoku period. They were inside a room, and Rukia was lying on a futon, covered in perspiration, the white Arrancar clothing that had been given to her was stained with her blood. Ichigo sat beside her while Kaede spoke to Orihime, instructing her on how to assist her.

"Ichigo," said Rukia through glazed eyes; Ichigo smiled at her and took her hands in his.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," said Ichigo hiding well his worry and fear; Rukia smiled at him but then shut her eyes tightly as another contraction hit her.

"May I have a moment with you?" Asked Kaede; Ichigo nodded and walked with her out of the room.

"Are you the pup's father?" Ichigo hesitated, but then he nodded.

"Well, she is losing a lot of blood, I will do what I can, you should have brought her much sooner."

"I understand, please do everything in your power to help her."

"Yes, I will, wait with the others. The delivery will be very messy; leave it to us, we'll take care of it." Ichigo looked reluctant, but then he nodded.

* * *

Ishida, Soi Fong, Renji, and Ashido were sitting in another room having hot tea, through the opened door, dawn appeared more and more visible with each appearing ray. Arriving to this dimension, Ichigo sensed the others' reiatsus and joined them. Ishida was surprised to find Rukia in that state and led them to a village a couple kilometers away. Apparently Ishida and his group had arrived there the day before and were staying with an old village miko; apparently it wasn't the first time the old woman ran into someone from the future, and so she offered them her help during their stay. Ichigo walked inside looking at bit troubled and took a seat next to Renji.

"How's Rukia?" Asked Renji concerned.

"Kaede said she was bleeding a lot, Orihime's helping her, so she should be fine," said Ichigo optimistically, though there was still a hint of worry on his face.

* * *

Orihime sat looking at the image before her with yes wide in shock. Of course she knew all about how pregnancies happened, but she had never witnessed one in person. She had never seen so much blood in her life; poor Kuchiki-san looked in so much pain, she was so small and frail, and Orihime couldn't fathom how she was going to empty that baby out of her system. She looked at Rukia's stomach, then at Rukia, and gasped when she realized that Rukia's stomach was perhaps half as big as Rukia herself.

Orihime's thoughts were interrupted by one of Rukia's ear-shattering screams. Orihime quickly rushed to Rukia's side and held her hand; Rukia held her hand almost painfully tight.

"All right, it is beginning to crown, push Rukia," said Kaede. Orihime assisted Rukia on sitting up slightly so she could push; then Rukia released the loudest scream that Orihime had ever in her young life heard.

* * *

Ichigo paced back and forth outside, the sun was halfway showing through the mountains. Hours had passed since she had gone into labor, why was it taking so long? Ichigo sighed exasperated; he sat on the ground and massaged his temples. Then when he heard Rukia scream again he stood back up and paced around again.

"You know, if you walk back and forth in the same spot enough, you could probably dig up a new well for the villagers," said Renji walking towards Ichigo.

"It's taking so long…"

"Well, according to Kaede it's perfectly normal, she said there's women that spend days popping their kids out," said Renji nonchalantly.

"How could you be so calm?! Isn't Rukia your childhood friend?!"

"Yes, but I have faith in Rukia's strength, besides, there's nothing I can do about it; looking so nervous isn't going to solve anything and it's only gonna make everyone else feel uneasy," said Renji.

"You're right, it's just…" sighed Ichigo exasperated; he groaned as he massaged his temples.

"If you're this worried, imagine how Kuchiki-taicho must be feeling," said Renji scratching his chin thoughtfully.

* * *

"Kuchiki-taicho what do you think you are doing?!' Asked Rangiku outraged as Byakuya took her bottle of sake and walked away with it.

"I need it," said Byakuya a tad anxious, they were in a forest, and Byakuya walked towards the river, he didn't bother pouring the sake in a dish, he just gulped it down, but nothing happened. Dammit why couldn't he be an easy drunk.

He threw the empty bottle of sake into the river and buried his face on his knees. A moment later, the others came by and peeked at him through the trees. They were doing a very bad job at hiding themselves since they were whispering loudly and he could clearly see their faces peeking out of the trees. Even captain Hitsugaya, Byakuya expected better from him.

"You thinks Bya-kun's baby is born yet?" Asked Nel.

"No, the key has not appeared before him yet, but it is apparent that lieutenant Kuchiki has already gone into labor, observe how he's stooping while gathering his knees," said Hitsugaya.

"I can hear you," said Byakuya irritated.

"Matsumoto have you captured that rabbit for dinner yet?" Asked Hitsugaya as he came out of the trees.

"No, Hitsugaya-taicho, but Chad and Nel were helping me."

"Oh, Kuchiki-taicho, what a surprise to see you here," said Hitsugaya; everything they were saying sounded as if they were reading it from a script.

"Your acting is very poor captain Hitsugaya," said Byakuya without turning to look at them; he kept his gaze on the river.

"But now that we're here we'll keep you company," said Rangiku; they all sat with him, "so, do you umm, think Kuchiki-san will be delivering any time soon?" Asked Rangiku, but Byakuya didn't say anything, his sight still fixed on the river.

"Would you like more sake then?" He still didn't say anything; Rangiku sighed in defeat.

Suddenly something happened that caused Byakuya to snap out of his slightly emo state. A faint yellow glow appeared before him; little by little the glow turned golden, until a golden key appeared. Byakuya stared at it for a long time before finally taking it into his hands. He looked down at the key and his eyes softened; a slight warm smiled graced his face.

"Bya-kun's a daddy!"

"Congratulations Kuchiki-taicho," said Hitsugaya smiling. These two comments by Nel and Hitsugaya pulled him out of his stupor and returned to his usual cold proper self.

"There is no need to congratulate me on such a matter," said Byakuya coldly as he stood up and left.

"That jerk," said Nel with raised fists; she was about to run after him but Rangiku held her back.

"Leave him alone, if he stays with us he won't allow himself to smile," said Rangiku smiling at Nel; Nel suddenly understood and nodded.

* * *

Ichigo was pacing back and forth standing outside when Orihime walked towards him with a little bundle wrapped in white sheets. Ichigo ran towards her meeting her halfway. He took the baby in his arms and cradled him. He was still very little, but Ichigo already saw Byakuya in him; the child would grow up to be the exact replica of his father.

"Take care of him, I need to go back inside," said Orihime warmly as she saw how affectionate Ichigo seemed to be towards the baby even though it wasn't his.

"What about Rukia? Can I come and see her?" Asked Ichigo unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Well, you see…" said Orihime scratching the back of her neck nervously, "Kuchiki-san isn't done yet."

"What do you mean she's not done yet she-" Ichigo's eyes widened in realization.

"There's another one, we found out just now, looks like Kuchiki-san will be having twins!" Said Orihime smiling optimistically; Ichigo's shoulders drooped a little. He would have to go through all that…again.

* * *

Byakuya sat on a tree looking intently at the key in his hand. His son was born, but yet, the feeling of anxiousness still lingered inside of him. His thoughts were interrupted by the sensing of another reiatsu, it was Nova. Byakuya descended the tree and walked to where the others were.

They all sat around a fire having breakfast, they were all hungry, but Nova was even more, he devoured the cooked rabbit rapidly.

"So you've found a way to defeat Aizen?" Asked Hitsugaya; Nova nodded as he finished eating.

"Yes, it is simpler than I expected actually, though I never thought about it before. Even if we cannot defeat him, which I think we will anyway, we can capture him in here. I created a dimension outside of this matrix of dimensions, one that only I can control. As soon as we leave, the matrix of dimensions will be sucked into a small orb, and they will not be able to get out. Once the dimensions has been shut, their spiritual powers will be absorbed to the point that they will become normal humans," said Nova.

"You're a genius, I swear I could kiss you right now," said Rangiku anxiously, but stopped when Hitsugaya looked at her annoyed; she smiled sheepishly at him.

"Then we would only need to keep them unconscious or immobile long enough to escape the dimensions," said Byakuya.

"Yes, and I have mapped out where the other reiatsus are, it would only take about two days to get there. Rukia and Orihime are with Ichigo and Ishida's groups, it will be easier to get to all of them now," said Nova.

"Very well then, let's go," said Byakuya; they were about to leave when three Espadas appeared before them, Ulquiorra, Grimmjaw, Nnoitra, along with ex captain Tossen.

"You're not going anywhere," said Tossen; Byakuya looked at Ulquiorra and Ulquiorra glared at him.

"You're getting in my way," replied Byakuya.

"What's wrong Captain Kuchiki? You seem tense," smirked Ulquiorra standing in front of Byakuya.

"You hurt Rukia," said Byakuya, his voice still calm and lacking emotion.

"And your point is?"

"My point? No one touches what's mine!" Screamed Byakuya suddenly enraged; he charged towards Ulquiorra and they both commenced in battle; Byakuya's comrades were still shocked by his sudden burst of rage.

"So the ice king does feel," smirked Rangiku.

"It appears so," said Hitsugaya.

* * *

It was midday; Ichigo sat under a tree with mini Byakuya lying down on his lap. The child stirred a bit and then opened his eyes; Ichigo gasped surprised when he saw that his eyes were a deep purple, just like Rukia's. He looked up at Ichigo and started crying; Ichigo immediately carried him in his arms in an attempt to cheer him up.

"You and Byakuya have more in common than I thought, neither of you like me," said Ichigo. Orihime walked out of the room with another baby. Ichigo walked towards her, confused to see her jumping in joy while clutching the baby close to her body.

"What? Was he born with red bean paste on his forehead?" Asked Ichigo; Orihime frowned momentarily but then smiled again.

"No, and it's not a he, it's a her!" giggle Orihime, "you wanna carry her?"

"Sure," said Ichigo, and they traded babies; mini Byakuya stopped crying and the baby girl looked up at Ichigo and smiled. She was the exact replica of Rukia, except her eyes, they were gray like Byakuya's.

"I think she likes me," said Ichigo and Orihime nodded, " so how's Rukia?"

"Poor Kuchiki-san is so tired, she fell asleep as soon as she got the chance to carry her baby girl."

"I'll come see her later then," said Ichigo, come on let's introduce the babies to the others.

* * *

The others were helping Kaede with lunch, peeling potatoes, steaming vegetables, frying rice…they all looked rather tired. As soon as Ichigo and Orihime walked inside, a smile spread itself on Renji's face. He ran towards them and took both babies from them; he looked at them back and forth.

"Twins?! Are you freaking kidding me?! Kuchiki-taicho will drop dead when he finds out!" Said Renji laughing, "and they look just like them too."

Ashido and Soi Fong remained peeling the potatoes, but Ishida walked towards Renji to take one of them into his arms; it was the boy, Hideto. Ishida looked at the boy's cold expression and couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, this one's his father's son."

"I know, isn't he cute Uryuu-kun?" Beamed Orihime.

"Yes, very cute," said Ishida looking at Orihime; Orihime looked away blushing. From the side, Soi Fong glared at them; Ishida noticed this and walked away from Orihime.

"Hey look Soi, you want to see Kuchiki-taicho's baby?" Soi Fong nodded as Ishida approached her; Orihime looked down at the floor sadly.

* * *

Rukia opened her eyes and everything around her seemed blurry, the only thing she could register was that she was no longer wearing those uncomfortable arrancar clothes, but rather a yukata. She tried to sit up but her entire body ached; she gave up and lied back down. It took a minute for her vision to come into focus again. Then she remembered everything, she was somewhere in the past and she had just given birth to twins; both were very difficult to bring into the world. She sighed as she looked at the ceiling; then Ichigo walked through the door with the babies, both appeared to be sound asleep. He lied down beside her on the futon, placing both babies in between them.

Rukia rolled to her side to face them, even though they were newborns they were born with heads full of jet black hair. She combed their hair with her delicate fingers as she smiled warmly at them. Ichigo's jaw almost dropped, he had never seen Rukia this…beautiful. Her hair was a mess, her cheeks were flushed, and her skin was pale, but there was something different about her, the unmistakable light in her eyes shone with great intensity, and her usually angry features were now soft and tender. Her lips seemed softer, and her face smoother and brighter.

She noticed him looking at her and looked up at him; Ichigo immediately looked away blushing. Rukia smiled and leaned over enough to plant a kiss on his forehead.

"Thank you," she whispered to not wake up the babies. He wanted to say she didn't need to thank him, he wanted to tell her she looked beautiful, and that motherhood suited her perfectly, but he remained silent. He didn't want to ruin the moment, he wanted this moment to remain, and enjoy it in silence.

"You should sleep," he finally said after a moment of silence; Rukia shook her head, her sight not removing itself from her sleeping children.

"I want to watch them sleep," she said; then Hideto groaned in his sleep; he lifted his chin in the air with a look of arrogance on his face; Rukia giggled.

"He does that a lot, he's just like Byakuya, except his eyes, they're like yours," said Ichigo.

"You know, I think I'd like to name my daughter Masaki, after your mother," said Rukia looking deeply into his eyes; his eyes became fixed with hers; Rukia smiled at him then looked away bashfully. He placed his hand on her chin, and then turned her to look at him. He touched her bottom lip with his thumb, and her lips parted slightly.

"I love you," he said simply, never looking away from her. Rukia's eyes softened, he had confessed his love for her before, but never like this. When he said it before they were children, when he said it before he said it laughing because she punched him. But this time, it came from him to say it, and it was a thousand times more meaningful than the last. Her eyes glazed in tears, and she smiled. Ichigo leaned forward, and planted a soft kiss on her lips, a pure, clean kiss.

"Now sleep, you've had a long day," said Ichigo; Rukia nodded and rested next to her children. She was very tired, and it only took her a moment to fall asleep. Ichigo stretched one arm towards her, embracing the babies in the process. He managed to cover much space, placing a hand behind the small of Rukia's back. He sighed and looked at the young family he embraced. Byakuya, that lucky bastard, what he wouldn't give for this family to be his, what he wouldn't give to be their father…and her lover.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N**: Oh my gosh I am so sorry I took so long to update, I was going to do this much sooner, but I've been stressing over so many things. I officially hate Sallie Mae, the interest rate on my loan is ridiculously high, I'm finding myself having to join the air force to gain some kind of scholarship out of that, since it is so much more difficult to get scholarships when you're already out of high school. (sigh) I so regret not applying for the Gates Millenium when I had the chance.

Well here it goes, Ch. 19, Enjoy! Next time: Last Chapter!

* * *

_Three Days Later…_

Ichigo and Rukia were walking through the forest in the night. Orihime had agreed to watch over the babies so that Rukia could take some fresh air. It was a new moon, and the moon's silver rays illuminated everything, creating mystical shadows.

Ichigo held Rukia's hand, and was surprised to see that she didn't pull it away. Rukia had recuperated amazingly quick; she was as slim as she was before the pregnancy, and if it were not for the dark circles still prominent under her eyes, one wouldn't know that just three days ago she had experienced one of the worst possible pains imaginable.

"Rukia, are you feeling well enough to leave tomorrow?"

"Why? Do you want to leave already?" Asked Rukia still a bit disappointed.

"No, of course not," said Ichigo brushing a stubborn lock of hair behind her ear, "but we need to."

"Why?"

"Well, we can't stay here forever."

"Yes, I know," sighed Rukia, "it's just, I've liked these past few days. Being with everyone else, and you," said Rukia, her eyes connecting with his momentarily.

"It'll be the same way when we get back."

"No it won't! Arriving there, things between you and I will never be the same again, or with Renji, Orihime, Ishida, you'll all be gone, only in my memories.."

"Why do you say something like that Rukia? We won't leave you, I promise," said Ichigo brushing her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I know you won't, it's me that will leave you," she said sadly.

"What?!" Asked Ichigo shocked; Rukia turned away from him and took a couple of steps away so that she was facing a lake in front of them.

"Two days after we get back, I will be marrying nii-sama, and then I will leave with him to the Royal realm."

"You're what…? Why didn't you tell me?! Do you even love Byakuya?! Tell me!!" Said Ichigo furiously as he suddenly grabbed her and shook her a bit; this ticked Rukia off and she frowned at him.

"That is none of your business Ichigo."

"None of my business? None of my business?! Of course it's my business! You don't even love him! Stop torturing yourself! And stop doing the same to me!"

"I do love him! You have no idea Ichigo. After the execution incident he changed! I don't know if you remember the details since with you it's always been "save this gotta save that!" My relationship with Byakuya has been growing before your very eyes but you never noticed it because of your own hard-headedness! You dismissed all the little details because you chose to ignore them!" Said Rukia furiously; then Ichigo remembered, and realized that what she was saying was true, there had been a hint of something between Rukia and Byakuya since before the baby fiasco.

He remembered now, how it was Byakuya that had saved her countless times, from Ichimaru, from the Bount Yoshi, Zommari Leroux; coming to think of it, if Byakuya hadn't been there all those times, Rukia would be dead. Yes, he remembered finding it suspicious that Byakuya had allowed Rukia to follow him into Hueco Mundo; not only that, but she blushed when mentioning that Byakuya made her wear a protective cloak. But even so…

"Do you remember now Ichigo? Now do you see?"

"You don't love him."

"Why do you keep on saying that?! You don't know that!" said Rukia bursting into tears.

"Because…I know," said Ichigo pressing her closer against him.

"You arrogant bastard you couldn't possibly-mph," she was muffled by his hungry lips. She struggled against him for a bit but then surrendered. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he explored her mouth with much enthusiasm. He ran his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp and eliciting a soft moan from her busy mouth.

"You want to know why I'm so sure Rukia? Because I changed your life as much as you changed mine, because before you I was hopeless, cynical. Because before me you were jaded, afraid to feel, buried in guilt. Because whenever you look at me you drop the ice princess act, because I'm the only one that can get your eyes to turn a deeper shade of purple. Because, you're the only person I can imagine spending the rest of my life with, and when you hold me like this, I know that you feel the same."

Rukia looked up at Ichigo with glazed eyes, her body trembling with emotion. Ichigo smiled when he noticed that her shivering form caused her bottom lip to stick out and turn into a pout, she tried to keep her composure, but failed terribly.

"Ichigo," was all she could say as she looked into the eyes of the only man she felt could ever read this much into her, "Ichigo…I…"

"It's all right, everything will be okay Rukia, I promise," said Ichigo as he embraced her and rubbed her back comfortingly.

A sudden explosion from afar caused them to snap out of their hazed trance. Ichigo let go of Rukia and looked to the direction from which the explosion came. From this distance he could sense that one of the reiatsus belonged to Ishida, and the other…

"Oh no!" Said Rukia horrified as her eyes widened, "we must hurry Ichigo."

* * *

Ishida was doing what he could to block the attacks of Gin's zanpakuto, Shinso. Meanwhile Renji, Soi Fong, and Ashido stood in front of Orihime protectively, since Aizen seemed to be eyeing her and the two babies she held in her arms.

"This is no fun Quincy, I haven't even released my Bankai and you're already having a difficult time," snickered Gin. It was true, Ishida had been feeling particularly weak lately, the mixture of dimensions must have interfered with his ability of absorbing spirit energy for his attacks.

"You know, it really annoys me when people assume that I am boring," said Ishida; then he shot Gin with his arrow; Gin flash stepped away, but his cheek was scratched. Annoyed, Gin wiped the bit of blood, and opened his red eyes briefly in order to glare at Ishida.

"All right then, Quincy, let's have fun," said Gin.

"Yeah, let's dance," said Ishida charging towards Gin.

Meanwhile Renji, Soi Fong, and Ashido were still positioned in front of Orihime. Aizen looked at Orihime, at the twins, then back at the shinigami, and snickered.

"Stay away from my the King's heirs," said Soi Fong

"Yes, that's right, there's two of them, Byakuya, that busy boy, I am guessing the boy is the heir to the throne, correct?" Said Aizen; Soi Fong merely frowned at him.

"Stay away," said Renji through gritted teeth; he took Hideto, the boy, from Orihime's arms and held him protectively.

Aizen grinned, and in a flash he was standing before them with something in his arms that had not been there before…

"Masaki!" Exclaimed Orihime horrified as she looked down at her empty arms.

"But how…we didn't even see when he…" said Renji.

"Is this what you are looking for?" Asked Aizen dangling Masaki awkwardly from the ears of her white bunny jumpsuit, a present from Ishida.

"Masaki!" screamed Orihime; Masaki stared at Orihime through wide gray eyes, then cried loudly.

"I'll be keeping this until I find Kuchiki-taicho, I don't think it will make any difference to him which of the two is in my custody," said Aizen.

"Let, her go," came a voice from the distance; then Ichigo stood before them along with Rukia.

"Masaki!" Screamed Rukia, but Ichigo held her back.

"We'll take care of this, you're still too weak to fight," said Ichigo.

"No! She's my daughter and I-" Ichigo shut her up again with a kiss; this calmed her down.

"Stay with Orihime. And Ashido, take them away from here!" Said Ichigo; Ashido nodded.

"Kaede has another house somewhere in the mountains, I'll show Ashido where it is," whispered Orihime to Rukia; Rukia nodded.

Rukia ran over to Renji and took Hideto, who was now crying, into her arms. Then Ashido wrapped an arm around Rukia and Orihime and flash stepped out of there. Aizen was surrounded by Renji, and Ichigo, while Soi Fong ran over to help Ishida with Gin.

"Well this isn't quite fair is it? We will have to increase our numbers. Halibel! Stark!" Stark appeared next to Gin while Halibel appeared next to Aizen.

"What? Is that all? And I thought the big bad Aizen would have a better trick up his sleeve," said Ichigo looking at Aizen mischievously. Aizen glared at him but then smiled.

"Tell you what Kurosaki, I'll defeat you while holding the baby in one hand," said Aizen.

"We'll see about that."

Ichigo fought against Aizen, Renji against Halibel, Soi Fong against Stark, and Ishida against Gin. Ichigo was getting ready to strike Aizen, but he placed Masaki in front of himself; Ichigo stopped abruptly, just barely missing Rukia's precious treasure.

Ichigo looked at Masaki terrified, but little Masaki giggled and grabbed his nose. Ichigo tried to grab her, but Aizen pulled her away again.

"Aizen, you coward! I could have killed her."

"But you did not, that only goes to show you how much faith I have in you."

Ichigo knew that from now on this fight would become more difficult; he had to restrain himself to not bring harm to the baby. Things weren't going very well for the others either, both Ishida and Renji were no match for their powerful competitors; the only one that was doing well was Soi Fong, who managed to seriously injure Stark after an hour of their battle. In the end, both Renji and Ishida were bruised and unconscious, Soi Fong managed to defeat Stark, and immediately ran to stand in front of Ishida to keep Gin from causing him anymore harm. Ichigo was still fighting Aizen, and neither were yet seriously injured, but the fight didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

From the corner of his eye, Ichigo saw as Halibel approached Renji to exert the attack that would finish him off.

"Renji move!" Screamed Ichigo, but Renji's unconscious state prevented him from hearing him. Just as Halibel was about to apply the final blow, Renji disappeared, Halibel blinked twice before spotting where he was.

"Byakuya, you're late," said Ichigo relieved. Byakuya appeared and moved Renji out of the way before Halibel could finish him off.

"The Espada were keeping us busy," said Byakuya as he set Renji on the floor; then his eyes became fixed on Aizen immediately. His eyes softened briefly as he laid eyes on his daughter; but very quickly his tender look switched to one of coldness and anger.

"I'll take it from here Kurosaki," said Byakuya glaring at Aizen; Aizen smirked. Ichigo was about to protest, but then nodded in understanding, and moved towards Halibel.

"Captain Kuchiki, where is my key, you are going to give it to me are you not? Your child's life is in my hands," said Aizen swaying the baby by the hood of her jumpsuit; little Masaki smiled and broke into giggles as she clapped her little hands. Byakuya's eyes narrowed, and he drew his hand away from his zanpakuto.

"Very well then," he said taking a couple of steps towards Aizen in a relaxed manner, "the key," he said reaching into his pocket.

Ichigo's eyes widened, he found it unbelievable that Byakuya would just hand over the key without a fight. But just as he began questioning Byakuya's decision, Byakuya shunpoed so quickly that no one there was able to see any of it, or even predict it, including Aizen.

"Just as I suspected, you and your followers have not yet fully recovered from the loss of reiatsu during the winter war," said Byakuya, he was now standing several meters behind Aizen, with little Masaki in his arms.

"But how did you…?" Asked Aizen surprised.

"Some things have changed," said Byakuya simply.

"Byakuya…" said Ichigo but Byakuya interrupted.

"Take, the baby and get out of here," said Byakuya.

"No, I want to fight too," said Ichigo fisting one hand on his side, Byakuya looked like he was about to argue about it, but then relaxed.

"Captain Soi Fong!" Said Byakuya; then Ichigo was shocked to the core when Byakuya threw Masaki through the air; Soi Fong had to shunpo to catch her, then she looked at him outraged.

"Captain Kuchiki she could have fallen!" She looked furious; but Byakuya ignored her .

"Get her out of here, find Rukia, and do not leave her side." Soi Fong nodded and left.

"What the hell is wrong with you Byakuya?! That's you daughter not a football!" Screamed Ichigo; Byakuya turned to look at him and smirked knowingly.

"I seem to recall you doing the same with someone else," said Byakuya; Ichigo frowned remembering the incident with Rukia when he saved her from the execution.

"If you are finished with your bickering, then let us continue this fight," said Aizen; Byakuya nodded. Ichigo turned to Halibel, and Gin watched amused from the sideline.

"This will be fun to watch," said Gin to himself.

"Really? How could you settle for that? Tell you what Gin, let's finish of what we started back in Sereitei, the night Momo interfered." Gin turned around to find Captain Hitsugaya pointing his released zanpakuto at him.

"Shiro-chan, how nice to see you, it's been an awfully long time," said Gin cheerfully.

"It's captain Hitsugaya to you." And with that they commenced the fight.

* * *

Rukia, Orihime, and Ashido were somewhere in the mountains. Ashido started a fire outside of the house, and they were all sitting on the porch in front of it. Rukia sat sadly, cradling Hideto in her arms, she looked down at him to find him sleeping. '_I'll bring back your little sister'_, she said in the confines of her own mind.

"Kuchiki-san, don't worry, Kurosaki-kun won't let anything happen to Masaki-chan," said Orihime stroking Rukia's back; Rukia smiled at her weakly.

"She's right Rukia, that boy holds incredible abilities, and his will to protect seems to be the key to that power," said Ashido.

"Yes, I know that, it's just-"

Then it happened, after half a decade of living with him, a year of making love with him, and weeks of living with him as a couple, she could distinguish his reiatsu with and astounding accuracy.

"Nii-sama," she said suddenly; she immediately stood up and dashed towards the direction of his flowing reiatsu, completely ignoring Orihime's and Ashido's looks of panic.

She began running down the mountain, holding her baby close against her chest. What was she thinking? She knew it was dangerous, she knew she would only be in the way. But something inside of her told her to run towards him, she wanted to show him his son, his heir, her mother's heart was swelling with pride, and her female nature wanted to protect her mate; she could only blame her lack of reason on pure animal instinct.

As she ran down the considerably steep slope, she almost slipped many times, but stood back up and continued. She came to an abrupt halt, crashing against something, it was too soft to be a tree, but too hard to be an animal; she almost fell back but was steadied. She looked up to see a pair of golden eyes staring back at her. He was definitely not human, but very close to it, he was tall with long silver hair, and a crescent moon on his forehead.

He looked at her then at the child in her arms. She was in so much shock that she was completely caught off guard when he took Hideto from her and held him unceremoniously by the hood of his jumpsuit, his sheep jumpsuit. He sniffed him, then tilted his face down to Rukia to sniff her too, he sniffed the air then turned to the direction where Byakuya was.

"This pup is not a demon, yet he has the wool of a sheep," said Sesshomaru giving the baby back to Rukia.

"Well, it's just a jumpsuit," said Rukia laughing a bit nervously, but Sesshomaru didn't seem to understand, "oh, well, a jumpsuit is a type of clothing."

"I see," said Sesshomaru, "it's not very wise of you to be wandering the woods this late in the night, especially with a pup. If you were my mate I would slaughter you for putting my heir's life in danger."

"Yeah, well, I think nii-sama probably would too, if he knew," laughed Rukia nervously, Sesshomaru said nothing to her, but kept his cold eyes on her, his chin a bit high in the air. '_He really is a lot like nii-sama,_' thought Rukia.

"Kuchiki-san!" said Rangiku as she ran towards Rukia with Chad, Nel, Orihime, Nova, and Ashido behind her She was surprised to see the demon Sesshomaru within such a close range of Rukia, his face merely centimeters from hers.

"Stay away from her," said Rangiku pointing her zanpakuto at him. Sesshomaru stepped away from her stoically, and looked at the group of people.

"Take her with you. True friends would never allow such a stupid woman to wander the woods after dark with a pup," said Sesshomaru, Rukia looked at him outraged and was about to say something, but Sesshomaru disappeared right before their eyes.

"I wonder, can demons shunpo?" Said Rangiku.

* * *

Metal clashed against metal, blood spilled, the earth beneath them shook. Three shinigami, two ex shinigami, and an Arrancar found themselves fighting a battle not too foreign, but nevertheless challenging. As Byakuya had stated earlier, Aizen and his followers had not yet recovered all of their power, so Ichigo and his group were at an advantage. But that advantage fell when one of their own collapsed, close to death. Everything changed then.

* * *

'_Oh no_!' thought Rangiku, her eyes widened, but she refused to say anything to anyone else there. Everyone was outside, except Rukia who was sleeping with her children inside the house.

"I don't like this, there's plenty of us, we should go help them," said Soi Fong impatiently.

"No, those guys are in a completely different level, we would only be getting in the way," said Ashido.

"Yes, he's right," said Rangiku; Orihime noticed there was something wrong with her; she was about to ask her but then opted not to.

"Go check on Kuchiki-san! Make sure she's not trying to run towards the fight again!" Said Soi Fong to Ashido suddenly, she was frustrated, she was powerless, and hated feeling this way. Ashido nodded and stood up.

* * *

Rukia was inside sitting up on the futon wearing a beige sleeping yukata she had found in one of the drawers, she was breastfeeding Masaki while Hideto was sleeping soundly on the futon. She combed Masaki's hair with her fingers as she suckled on her hungrily. Rukia's eyes widened when Masaki's placed her little hands on her breast and suckled harder, she was apparently very hungry.

"Slowly now, you wouldn't want to choke," smiled Rukia. Just then Ashido walked into the room; he immediately got red in the face.

"Oh I'm sor-"

"It's fine, nothing you haven't already seen" laughed Rukia.

"Well," said Ashido scratching the back of his head nervously.

"It's fine, really, come sit," said Rukia; Ashido sat on the floor in front of her. He struggled to keep himself from looking at her exposed left breast. Ashido had been attracted to Rukia for quite some time, it was something that all the shinigami that went on the mission to Hueco Mundo during the summer already knew, including Rukia.

He looked at Rukia's face, and noticed she looked very different, the shy girl he had accidentally ran into while she was dressing, was gone, perhaps motherhood or being with Byakuya all this time had changed that.

"You shouldn't run off like that again, it's dangerous," said Ashido after a long moment of silence.

"I know, and I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking I…I'm not very sure why I did that, I guess I really wanted nii-sama to see Hideto, and make sure he was safe," said Rukia thoughtfully; Ashido smiled.

"What?" Asked Rukia curiously.

"You've grown up. You were such a tomboy and now look at you," said Ashido.

"What are you talking about I was never a tomboy," said Rukia irritated, a vein pulsing on her temple; Ashido laughed. They were silent for a while; the only sound in the room was that of Masaki's suckling.

"Do you think Ichigo and nii-sama will be all right?" Asked Rukia suddenly.

"Of course, they're powerful men; the way Byakuya is now, he's probably more powerful than Aizen," said Ashido.

"I hope you're right," said Rukia.

* * *

The sun was peeking through the mountains, and the first rays were beginning to shine through the dense forest. Everyone was asleep except Rangiku, who sat outside staring up at the sky. A little while later, Orihime walked outside and sat next to her on the porch.

"Rangiku-san, what's wrong?"

"Nothing in particular, I just…yesterday I felt my captain's reiatsu weaken, I wonder if he and the others are okay," said Rangiku.

"I'm sure they're all fine," said Orihime smiling at her optimistically. Just as Orihime said that, two silhouettes appeared through the sun's rays; it took them a while to make out who they were, but after a while they saw that it was Ichigo and Byakuya. They both looked very tired, and were bruised and bleeding, but neither were seriously injured. The two women in anticipation as the two men approached them.

"Kurosaki-kun, what happened?" Asked Orihime.

"Where's Shiro-chan?!" Asked Rangiku immediately.

"He's fine, he was too injured to come with us, so Kaede's taking care of him, Ishida, and Renji right now," said Ichigo.

"And Aizen and the others?" Asked Orihime.

"Did you kill them?" Asked Rangiku fearfully; Ichigo knew it was because of Gin.

"No, they'll be unconscious for a couple of days though, that gives us more than enough time to get out of here and seal this dimension to keep them from escaping," said Ichigo; there was a genuine look of relief on Rangiku's face.

"Itzugo!" Screamed Nel running towards Ichigo. She dashed towards him in full force knocking him to the floor.

"Nel!" At that moment Chad, Ashido, Nova, and Soi Fong walked out of the house.

"Where's Ishida?" Asked Soi Fong trying to hide the worry in her voice, but failed miserably.

"He couldn't come because he's being treated by Kaede, but he told me to give you this," said Ichigo; he handed Soi Fong the beaded rosary that Ishida always wore on his wrist. Soi Fong smiled, then she noticed the saddened expression on Orihime from the corner of her eye, and for once, she actually felt bad for her.

Taking advantage of the fact that the others weren't watching him, Byakuya sneaked away from them and walked inside the house. He found the room in which Rukia was and stood by the door watching her; he gasped surprised when he noticed that there wasn't one, but two babies; she held them both protectively in her arms as she slept.

* * *

Byakuya entered the room and slid the door closed behind him. He walked towards the futon, and hesitated a bit before lying on his side next to her. She was facing away from him; he draped an arm over her waist. He nuzzled the back of her neck and then placed a soft kiss on the side of her neck.

"Good morning Rukia," he whispered in her ear; Rukia's eyes immediately shot open. She turned to face him, and immediately buried her face in the crook of his neck as she embraced him, taking him by surprise. He stilled for a moment, but then relaxed in her embrace.

"You're back," she mumbled into the skin of his throat; he could hear her sobbing.

"It's all right, everything will be fine from now on," he whispered in her ear as he cradled her.

She tilted her face up to look at him, then pressed her lips against his. Byakuya smiled, and responded to her kiss in earnest, entangling his legs with hers, and dipping his tongue inside her mouth as he pressed her closer against him.

She moaned into his mouth, and feeling encouraged, his lips made their way to her throat where they began to suck on her pulse point. Rukia sighed happily, but knew she had to stop him when a calloused hand squeezed one of her breasts.

"Stop nii-sama, I just gave birth to your children, and already you want to re-impregnate me," giggled Rukia; Byakuya stopped, but not because she asked him to, but because of a word used in her sentence, a word he didn't want to hear, a word that stung "nii-sama", she still called him that, it made him wonder, if to her, that was still all he was…

But his thoughts were interrupted when she sat up and prompted him to do the same. She then took Hideto and placed him in Byakuya's arms; then she took Masaki and placed her in his arms as well. The look on Byakuya's face was priceless, he actually looked…scared, the all mighty Byakuya Kuchiki, scared of babies. He pressed them closer against him awkwardly, unsure of whether he was doing it right; he looked over at Rukia as if asking for help; she giggled and took Masaki from him.

"Like this," said Rukia showing him how to hold them; Byakuya mimicked her movements and soon found himself at ease. He looked down at his son who was now awake and smiled, a rare and very different smile that Rukia had never seen on him before.

"Ready for the other one?" Asked Rukia with a goofy grin on her face; Byakuya nodded. Then Rukia carefully placed Masaki in one of his arms; he looked at her and smiled again.

"Children, say hello to your father," said Rukia, that large grin still plastered on her face.

Then she heard something and turned quickly; she saw the door opened, someone had walked into the room and seen them, but whoever it was had been here only a little while. '_Ichigo_' she thought, and her smile turned upside down. She was interrupted from her thoughts by Masaki's giggles; she turned around to see Masaki pulling on Byakuya's hair; Byakuya looked surprised and clueless, she couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Ichigo was sitting alone on the porch. What was that back there? He never thought something so simple as seeing Rukia and Byakuya together with their children would break his resolve. He knew it would be painful, but not this much. The sight, if witnessed by anyone else would be deemed heartwarming, but to him, it was the most abominable sight in existence. She looked so happy, was he wrong to think things could still work out with Rukia? Perhaps he underestimated her feelings for Byakuya. Who would she choose? Would it be fair to make her choose? Now that he saw how happy she seemed, he couldn't help but feel like the bad guy.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry if it's not all that great, but I've been seriously stressing, I might take a week or two to update the last chapter.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** All right, well here it is, I hope you like it!

_

* * *

_

_7 Years Later…_

Ichigo, now twenty-three, stood in front of a mirror wearing a black suit, trying to fix his tie, but to no avail. He sighed in defeat and stepped out into the hall.

"Yuzu!"

"Coming," said Yuzu cheerfully walking into the hall and in front of Ichigo.

"I can't believe you're a successful cardiologist and you still don't know how to tie a tie," Sighed Yuzu.

"Son!" Ichigo had no time to retaliate, he was knocked against the wall by Isshin.

"You must always be on guard! Have I wasted all these years teaching you for nothing?!" Exaggerated Isshin as he started crying and embraced his dead wife's poster, which was conveniently placed somewhere in the house whenever he decided to be dramatic.

"Relax dad, you can be so dramatic sometimes," said Ichigo dusting off his suit.

"Yeah, besides, he probably didn't see you coming because he's so nervous and excited," teased Karin as she walked into the hall; Ichigo didn't say anything, but got a bit red in the face.

"That's right! Ichigo is nervous, that is the only explanation for disappointing me!" Said Isshin brightly, "don't be nervous son, today you will officially become a man! Make your old-man proud!" Said Isshin patting his son on the back; then he looked down at his watch, "you should probably leave now, you need to be there earlier to await the lovely bride; we'll meet up with you there."

* * *

Orihime was standing in front of the mirror looking at her reflection with eagerness. The puffy white dress complimented her greatly, the straps fell down to the sides of her shoulders, and allowed for a slight view of her cleavage.

"You look so beautiful Orihime," said Tatsuki.

"Yeah, I'm glad that man finally decided to get over that raven-haired bitch and turned to you instead, you're so much prettier," said Yumichika Ayasegawa, beaming at her image in the mirror.

"Well I don't think I'm prettier, she's very cute and-"

"Stop being so modest and accept a compliment, now get out there and make me proud," said Yumichika; he gave her a slap on the rear. Orihime would have objected had the circumstances not changed so much during the last seven years. Not long after returning from saving Rukia from Aizen, Yumichika admitted to being gay, and he and Kenpachi were now in a…questionable relationship.

Kenpachi denied it all and even threatened to murder anyone that questioned his sexuality, but whenever he didn't think anyone was looking, which they actually were, he would get closer to Yumichika and touch him in inappropriate places. It was not much of a shock finding out Yumichika was gay, what came as shocking was the relationship he carried with the incredibly tough manly captain of the eleventh division; everyone always thought he'd come out of the closet with Ikkaku. Now it became clear why Yumichika made it into the eleventh division even though he was so girly, delicate, and highly unsuitable for it, Kenpachi must have been attracted to him from the beginning.

"Come on, we don't wanna keep that man of yours waiting," said Yumichika; the three of them rushed out of there.

* * *

Ichigo was waiting in front of the altar, it was very unlike Orihime to be late. As they were waiting Rangiku approached him and shook his hand.

"Hey Ichigo, looking handsome, that lady of yours is a very lucky woman," said Rangiku winking at him.

"Thank you," said Ichigo shifting around nervously.

"Don't be so nervous, the ceremony won't be that long and dreadful, I promise," said Rangiku smiling at him; then she left him and took her seat next to Hitsugaya, who looked very uncomfortable in his suit.

Ichigo looked at his watch and tapped his foot on the floor impatiently, the ceremony would begin in two minutes, and no sign of Orihime. He felt a wave of relief wash over him when he saw her on the door way; immediately the organ started playing. His nervous eyes softened at the sight of her, she looked so happy, and so beautiful.

As she walked down the aisle, it appeared as if she were floating, the dress making her look dream-like. He stood at the end of the aisle, and took her hand in his.

"Thank you Ichigo, I'm so happy," smiled Orihime, her eyes brimming with tears of happiness.

"You're welcomed," said Ichigo; he kissed her hand and wiped her tears away.

Then they walked towards the altar, where he gave her hand to the rightful owner and groom, Ishida. Ichigo stood behind Ishida, while Tatsuki stood behind Orihime. Orihime glanced at Ichigo briefly to smile at him, then kneeled before the altar with her beloved.

"We are gathered here today…" Ichigo sat on a chair close to Ishida looking somewhat anxious. He was not planning on being involved in Orihime's and Ishida's wedding because he had somewhere important to be an hour from now.

Orihime came to him a week before the wedding, and begged him with tears in her eyes to be the one to give her hand to Ishida. She had no father, or brother, and Ichigo was the closest man to her, in exception of Ishida; she said it would mean the world to her if he did, so he accepted. He had no idea what he would do, a wedding ceremony took less than and hour…right? He sighed nervously and looked back to his watch. His mind completely closed out in panic, paying no attention to his surroundings.

"…reason as to why this couple should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your silence…" Ichigo looked down at his watch and suddenly stood up; everyone inside stared at him and gasped.

"Kurosaki-kun, what are you doing?" Asked Orihime looking at him, wide-eyes, and mortified.

"What?" Asked Ichigo looking around at all the jaw-dropped individuals in the room; then he realized it.

"Oh! No, it's not that! Get married…I mean…I don't mind I-I…I need to go. Good luck," said Ichigo walking away; then he stopped suddenly and turned to look at the couple at the altar.

"Oh, and Ishida, make Orihime happy, never make her cry again or I'll kick your ass," said Ichigo; Ishida kissed Orihime's hand, looked over at Ichigo, and nodded, a silent understanding between the two.

* * *

Renji was waiting for Ichigo outside the church, he wore a white Captain's haori, with the squad six symbol embed on it. As soon as he saw Ichigo walking outside, out of his body and in Shinigami form, he opened the gate to the soul society. All of this was thanks to Urahara's invention, a pill that kept a body in good shape for up to a month without the soul being inside of it. Ichigo came back to the living world every month for three days in order to use his body and drink the pill again.

"About time, I was starting to think you wouldn't come, said Renji.

"To my own inauguration? Of course I would come," said Ichigo.

"Well let's hurry up."

* * *

Ichigo and Renji shunpoed through Soul Society as quickly as possible, electronic appliance didn't work here, so that had Ichigo even more on edge. He had no idea what time it was. They arrived to the large temple and burst in through the doors looking tired and out of breath; the hundreds of shinigami looked at them a bit confused.

Ichigo looked at the clock on the wall, and noticed that it was still half an hour before the ceremony began. He was safe. At the moment all the shinigami in the room were eating food in the buffet and conversing with one another.

"Future Captain of the Fifth division, it is highly unprofessional of you to be late," said Soi Fong as she approached them with Hanatarou by her side She had baby boy in her arms, while Hanatarou was holding a little girl's hand. The girl and boy both had black hair, and eyes blue like Hanatarou's but narrow like Soi Fong's.

"Hi, Ichigo," said Hanatarou looking at Ichigo shyly as he scratched the back of his head. Hanatarou was Soi Fong's husband, and the man that Soi Fong left Ishida for. Ishida and Soi dated for three years. Then something happened one night while Soi Fong was hospitalized in the fourth division, because of a spar with Kenpachi. No one knew how it really happened, but other members of the fourth division that happened to be passing by during the event, claimed that this was what happened:

…

_That night, Soi was attempted to escape the fourth division medical rooms, she didn't want to be there anymore; all day she had been screaming at them that she was fine, that she had already been there for a month, and that was too long for a mere concussion. She was walking through the hall when she almost fainted, but Hanatarou caught her._

_She looked up at him and their eyes locked for what seemed an eternity. Hanatarou had been the one attending her while she was there, so there had already been some sexual tension between the two, prompted by little moments. Moments in which their hands accidentally brushed against each other, whenever he gave her baths (the concussion caused some brain damage that affected her walking for a week), and simply giving her company to keep her from feeling alone. All of these things, the other nurses assumed, were what caused Soi Fong to see Hanatarou in a different light, and caused a blushing Hanatarou to fall madly in love with her._

_After gazing into each other's eyes, Soi Fong whispered something in his ear; whatever it was, had Hanatarou blushing so much that his entire face went red._

_"Would you…really like for me to do that Soi Fong-taicho?" Soi Fong nodded and kissed him on the lips briefly before biting his lower lip, and completely invading his mouth. They walked into the room and no one knew what happened after that. All they knew was that Hanatarou left until the next morning looking very tired and disheveled. _

….

Well, whatever it was that happened…it made Soi dump Ishida and shack up with Hanatarou. The couple dated for over a year, then decided to get married when Hanatarou accidentally impregnated her.

Now they were a married couple with a two year-old girl, and a nine month baby boy.

"Even so, you thought you were late, so that makes it the same as if you were late," said Soi Fong.

"Soi leave Ichigo alo-"

"Are you questioning my authority?!" Screamed Soi at Hanatarou; Hanatarou immediately bowed in apology and shut up.

"No sweetie, I did not mean to do that, I'm sorry," said Hanatarou quietly.

"Exactly," said Soi Fong; then after a moment of seeing him so depressed, she whispered something in his ear, biting his earlobe slightly afterwards. Hanatarou immediately cheered up and stood tall; then they walked away.

"Poor bastard," whispered Ichigo to Renji.

"Yeah, but something tells me he likes her bitchiness. I bet they have hot and painful makeup sex afterwards," said Renji musingly; Ichigo elbowed him on the side. A moment later Kenpachi walked towards them discretely.

"Hey umm…Ichigo, you wouldn't happen to know when Ayasegawa will get back will ya?" Asked Kenpachi looking a bit embarrassed.

"Umm…no, he umm, the wedding might be over pretty late," said Ichigo; then they were silent for an awkward moment; Ichigo and Renji stared at Kenpachi.

"That fool he…umm…he left some paperwork unfinished, and I umm…it's, it's due tomorrow," said Kenpachi nervously, "Well, I-I gotta go now," with that he left.

"You know, I think it will take me a couple of decades to adjust to Kenpachi's and Yumichika's…friendship," said Renji; Ichigo nodded in agreement.

A couple of minutes later, the inauguration began. The ceremony lasted a very long time, by the time they were finished, it was already night. Ichigo stayed there for a while afterwards, accepting his congratulations from the other captains. He was relieved once it was over, he could not wait to get home…to her.

* * *

He opened the large doors and walked inside, where he was met by servants bowing to him, he saluted them and proceeded to walk through his very large house. Walking through the drawing room, he was shocked to find Byakuya sitting there having tea with his beautiful wife, Senbonzakura.

"Byakuya? I mean, your majesty, what are you doing here?" Said Ichigo bowing slightly before standing up straight again.

"The children wanted to see Rukia, but it seems she's asleep at the moment," said Senbonzakura answering for Byakuya.

Byakuya and Rukia married shortly after Rukia was saved, and lived a happy marriage for three years, so Rukia was both heartbroken and dismayed when Byakuya asked her for a divorce. Byakuya knew that deep down Rukia still had feelings for Ichigo, and he himself was beginning to fall in love with a very unexpected person, Senbonzakura, who could now remain materialized as a human.

Ichigo started seeing Rukia a couple of months after their divorce, and he married her less than a year later. It was decided that Hideto and Masaki were to be with Rukia for to weeks every month, while spending the rest of their time with Byakuya. Byakuya went to hell and back to gain permission from the Kuchiki elders and the Soul Society to be with Senbonzakura. It was a large controversy, a soul reaper falling in love with his zanpakuto, it was unheard of. It wasn't until last year when their relationship was finally accepted, and the two married.

"Where are they?" Asked Ichigo.

"They are playing in the garden," said Byakuya as stoic as ever.

"Daddy! Daddy! Masaki wants to eat me!" Screamed little Megumi rushing into the drawing room, wrapping her little arms around Ichigo's legs.

Megumi was Ichigo's and Rukia's two year-old daughter. She had bright orange hair like Ichigo's and big violet eyes like Rukia's. She was a bright little girl, beginning to speak when she was merely ten months. Rukia dressed her in modern clothes and ponytails, ponytails which seemed to stand like a rabbit's ears whenever she was scared or curious.

"Don't worry, Megumi, your sister won't eat you," laughed Ichigo.

"I'm a Hollow and I'm going to devour Megumi-chan's soul!" said Masaki walking into the room trying to look scary; little Megumi buried her head in Ichigo's legs.

"Oh come on don't be such a fraidie-cat," said Masaki, Masaki was the living portrait of Rukia, except for her gray eyes.

"Well, maybe you should just leave her alone," said Hideto walking into the room. He carried himself in a way that made him look far older than his years, he was wise, and very stoic like his father.

"It would suck for you kids to leave without seeing your mother, so I'll go get her," said Ichigo.

"Thanks Ichigo!" Said Masaki hugging Ichigo before he left.

* * *

Ichigo walked into the room to find Rukia sleeping on the bed. His eyes softened at seeing her so peaceful. He walked towards her, slipped next to her on the bed, and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Rukia, the kids are here," he whispered in her ear. He lowered his head, and skimmed his lips along her jaw line.

"They're here?" Asked Rukia beginning to stir awake.

"Yes," he mumbled into the skin of her neck.

"So how was the inauguration, Captain?"

"Boring," he said; then began sucking on her pulse point; a small gasp escaped her lips.

"Sorry, I couldn't make it, I've been sleeping all day," she said.

"It's understandable," said Ichigo placing a hand on her grown stomach.

"They're both so uneasy, captain Unohana said it's to be expected since they're due any day now," said Rukia; she looked confused when Ichigo raised her shirt up to expose her stomach.

"What are you doing?" giggled Rukia as he kissed along her womb, running his lips and tongue over it, while caressing it with his hand.

"I have an idea."

"What?"

"Do you think they would calm down with a transfer of reiatsu?" He asked suggestively.

"Ichigo, the kids are here to see me we…"

"We'll let Byakuya entertain them."

"But…"

"Nope, you have to do your wifely duties, it comes with the marriage," said Ichigo giving her a peck on the lips.

"Really? I don't remember signing for that."

"Sure you did, it was the small lettering at the bottom of our marriage contract."

"Baka!" Said Rukia smacking him playfully on the head, "well that wouldn't be the first time tiny letters got me in trouble."

"Really? What was the other time?"

"When Byakuya adopted me. Apparently the elders that wrote the contract stated in there that the clan had a right to marry me off, or couple me with whoever they felt convenient. At the time they probably meant to another noble…but I guess the occasion called for it," said Rukia.

"Really? You never told me that before."

"Yeah, I guess I didn't think it was important, besides, you probably would have gone on a Kuchiki killing spree."

"I already felt like doing that anyway, those bastards almost ruined your life," said Ichigo looking very angry just remembering.

"Well, it's okay now. You don't have to murder anyone anymore, except for Renji…"

"He did it again?!"

"Yes," said Rukia looking thoroughly annoyed.

"That freaking perv! Does he not understand that he is being a pedophile?!"

"Well, he says, that their love will slowly bloom, and he will wait for her to become a full grown lady, meanwhile, he will adorn her with gifts, so that one day she will understand his love for her," said Rukia looking a bit upset.

"Yes, but Masaki?! I mean, he's old enough to be her father."

"Well Ichigo, people age differently here, I mean, you reach the physical body of a fifteen year old and you're stuck that way for decades. By the time Masaki is old enough to date, Renji will have the physical body of a twenty-two year-old."

"You approve of this?!"

"Well, Renji has been a great friend all these years, so I guess it'd be kind of nice to have him join the family, I think Byakuya would also approve actually," said Rukia thoughtfully.

"Oh no, Renji turned you into a perv!" Said Ichigo dramatically.

"You're starting to sound like your father," said Rukia.

"Am not! Anyway, stop trying to stall, like I said, nothing will get you out of doing your wifely duties," said Ichigo starting to untie his sash.

"Wait, no, I can't."

"Why not?" Asked Ichigo getting a bit annoyed.

"My water just broke."

* * *

A/N: Well there's that. I'd like to thank all of you for taking your time to read this story, it's people like you that keep people like me doing what they love. No matter how much a writer claims to write for "themselves", in reality, we write for you guys, and it means so much to me that you guys liked my story. I hope you guys will join me in my other written adventures, until then, adiosu!


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